Few countries are on track to meet their offshore wind targets and, as a result, the value of target-setting has been called into question. However, our experience of advising governments around the world, as well as our analysis of targets and actual deployment rates in six key markets clearly demonstrates the positive impact of targets for facilitating market scale and visibility and, in turn, driving installations.

Our analysis of offshore wind development in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Vietnam and France highlights four key takeaways for target-setters: 

•  Targets spur on installations, and ambitious targets are strongly linked to higher deployment rates.
•  Targets must be followed by plans that clearly define processes and responsibilities.
• Ambitious targets without coherent action plans can lead to stagnation.
• Collaborative initiatives can support market scale and accelerate build-out.