Aug 10: The costs of offshore wind projects commissioned in 201617 vary widely, but on average are 150% higher than onshore wind and more than 50% higher than utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. 8However, the results of recent auctions in Europe suggests a step change in costs for some new projects scheduled to enter into operation in the early 2020s; these include some bids that did not require any price guarantees at all, albeit at favourable conditions with the cost of grid connection taken by the transmission system operator. 8Such a dramatic improvement in costs, if realised in practice, would provide a powerful stimulus for policy support and investment elsewhere in the world. 8For projects commissioned in 2016, the global average LCOE of offshore wind was 150% higher than that of onshore wind and more than 50% higher than that of utility-scale solar PV. The website also carries here a projection of cost of offshore wind energy projects where technological advances and huge economies of scale plug the gap with onshore renewable power over time. 8Know more about the massive Chinese push towards offshore wind energy projects and efforts made by India so far. Click on Reports for more