OSLO (Reuters). – An entirely new set of criteria is being used in international tenders to grant licences for offshore wind farm licenses. This will help determine who the winners are in a competitive market, according to a Wood Mackenzie report.

Chris Seiple from Wood Mackenzie, Vice Chairman of Energy Transition, stated that “the focus now shifts to multiple criteria for determining tender and lease Auction outcomes.” He made the statement in a statement Wednesday.

While cost competitiveness is a key element in winning offshore wind, it has now reached its limit with falling project returns, increased lease payments, and reduced subsidy payments.

According to Soren Lassen, Wood Mackenzie’s chief of offshore wind research, competition will have to also consider local content. This is the amount of value that a project brings to local, regional, and national economies.

Lassen said to Reuters that he believed that companies who are able create the best partnerships in bidding will be the ones that benefit most. But, he didn’t believe that one company would have a greater impact on all bids and lease auctions than any other.

Wood Mackenzie suggested that offshore wind should offer plenty of opportunity, and is poised to be one of key technologies in the decarbonisation process of the global economy.

Wood Mackenzie projected that by 2030 there will be 24 large-scale offshore turbine farms in existence. In comparison to nine countries currently, the total capacity installed will grow from 330 gigawatts (GW) in 2020 to 330 GW. Global capex will exceed $1 trillion in 2031.