Offshore wind is moving beyond the handful of markets that pioneered it. Coastal governments in Southeast Asia and other emerging regions are publishing roadmaps, commissioning resource and seabed surveys and drafting leasing and permitting rules, the groundwork for the first competitive rounds.
The attraction is scale: offshore sites can host gigawatts close to coastal demand centres, and turbine and foundation supply chains are looking for new markets. The obstacles are equally familiar, port infrastructure, grid connection at the coast, and the cost of capital.
What the roadmaps contain
Typically: a resource assessment, zones for development, a leasing or auction model, grid-connection responsibilities and local-content ambitions. Several countries are sequencing near-shore and fixed-bottom projects first, with floating designated for later. Read our Vietnam and Philippines guides for two of the most advanced pipelines.
Supply-chain implications
Early activity favours survey vessels, geotechnical work, port upgrades and grid studies; turbines, foundations, cables and installation follow once rounds are awarded. Local fabrication of towers, foundations and cable is a common policy goal, creating openings for component suppliers to regional OEMs.
Follow the roadmaps in our renewables section.
Background: why offshore wind, and why now
Offshore wind delivers high capacity factors, evening and monsoon-season output that complements solar, and large blocks of capacity close to coastal load centres, attractive properties for the fast-growing coastal economies of Southeast Asia and, further out, for South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. The Global Wind Energy Council and the World Bank Group’s offshore wind development programme have mapped tens of gigawatts of technical potential in Vietnam and the Philippines alone. What has been missing is the regulatory plumbing: rules for seabed surveys and leasing, environmental permitting, port upgrades and grid connection at the coast.
The roadmaps now being published, often with technical assistance from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and bilateral partners such as Denmark, the UK and Germany, set out that sequence: designate zones, run survey and lease auctions, define the offtake contract, and build the onshore grid to receive the power.
What to watch
- Seabed leasing auctions. The first competitive survey and lease rounds are the trigger for real investment; watch for auction rules and bid deposits.
- Offtake mechanism. Feed-in tariffs, auctions or direct PPAs, the choice determines bankability and which developers participate.
- Port and vessel capacity. Marshalling ports, jack-up vessels and cable-lay capacity are regional bottlenecks; announcements of port upgrades are a leading indicator.
- Grid connection. Coastal substations, HVAC or HVDC export cables and transformer availability determine how quickly projects can connect.
What it means for suppliers to utilities and OEMs
Offshore wind is a supply-chain business. Foundations, towers, cables, substations, blades and nacelles all involve heavy local fabrication where possible, and roadmaps typically pair leasing rules with local-content targets, see local content rules tighten. For suppliers to utilities, the immediate opportunity is onshore: coastal grid reinforcement, reactive compensation, protection and control for long export cables, and port electrical infrastructure. Track roadmap milestones on our renewables sector page and in the Southeast Asia overview.
Quick answers
Which emerging markets are closest to offshore wind construction?
Vietnam and the Philippines have the most advanced pipelines in Southeast Asia, with Taiwan and South Korea as regional references; South Africa, Morocco and Brazil are at earlier roadmap stages.
What is a seabed leasing round?
A competitive process in which the state grants developers exclusive rights to survey and later develop a defined offshore area, usually with obligations on timelines and local content.
Sources and further reading
- Global Wind Energy Council, Global Offshore Wind Report, market data and country pipelines
- World Bank, Offshore wind technical potential, resource mapping for emerging markets
- IRENA, Wind energy, costs and technology
- Asian Development Bank, Energy, offshore wind roadmap support
- EnergiTech Media, Energy infrastructure in Vietnam, country guide
This article was researched and written by the EnergiTech Media editorial team and last reviewed in August 2026. We update country and sector guides as tenders, plans and regulations change. Spotted something out of date? Email support@energitechmedia.com.