Blue Economy: Compatibility between the Increasing Offshore Wind Technology and the Achievement of the SDG

Abstract

In 2015, the UN impulsed an ambitious initiative called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including 17 Goals and 169 Targets, to be accomplished in the 2015-2030 period. At the same time, offshore wind industry has taken the great leap towards the ocean. Such wind farms hold more and more wind turbines (>100), depths increase leaving shallow waters (almost 100 m deep), and the power installed is increasing at a dramatic rate not thought to be possible only one decade ago (currently reaching 400 MW). These facts are ones of the great advances of the XXI century, but so far, it has not been done a deep reflection on the impact of the offshore wind on the aforementioned SDG, and on how the offshore wind is going to accomplish all the challenges happening when trying to reach such SDG. The achievement of some of the SDG and the offshore wind technology progress go, with no doubt, hand in hand. This is the case of Goal 12 (Responsible consumption and production), Goal 13 (Climate action), or Goal 14 (Life below water). But there are also other SDG that deserve a special attention, in order to ensure that offshore wind power technology effectively will contribute to reach them, and will not, on the contrary, act to the detriment of them. This is the case of Goal 7 (Affordable and clean energy), Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth), or Goal 10 (Reducing inequalities). In this paper, the great contribution of the offshore wind technology to achieve the SDG is commented, making special emphasis on the possible weaknesses that could appear, and on how to solve them. All of it to make by 2030 the world, in general, and the energy in particular, become more blue.