The Impact of Offshore Wind Farms on Increasing Electricity Production and Reducing CO2 Emissions
author:
ZIEMOWIT MALECHA, MACIEJ CHOROWSKI, JAKUB NIECHCIAŁ
ORCID ID:
0000-0001-8560-760X, 0000-0001-7224-8695, 0000-0001-7660-0297
No:
5/2025 Instal pp.9-11
DOI:
10.36119/15.2025.5.1
This paper analyzes the actual impact of offshore wind farms on changes in the global capacity factor for wind
energy. It also examines the real influence of unstable renewable energy sources (URES), namely photovoltaic and
wind installations, on the reduction of CO2 emissions. The study utilizes available data from the years 2000–2023 for
Denmark, Germany, and Poland — countries characterized by significantly different shares of URES in their energy
mixes. The analysis demonstrates that the reduction of CO2 emissions is primarily correlated with a decrease in total
electricity production. The effect of increasing installed URES capacity on emission reduction is secondary. It was also
shown that the growing share of offshore wind farms in the wind energy sector does not translate into an increase in
the global capacity factor (GCF). This may be related to lower-than-expected electricity generation from URES, as
well as the necessity to curtail unstable sources due to the lack of demand (or technical ability) to accommodate
additional electricity volumes within the grid.
Keywords:
About Authors:
Prof. dr hab. inż. Ziemowit Malecha https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8560-760X ziemowit.malecha@pwr.edu.pl,
Prof. dr hab. inż. Maciej Chorowski https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7224-8695 maciej.chorowski@pwr.edu.pl,
Dr inż. Jakub Niechciał https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7660-0297 jakub.niechciał@pwr.edu.pl ‒ Wroclaw University of Science and
Technology, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering. Corresponding author: ziemowit.malecha@pwr.ewdu.pl
