The Environmental\nand Public Health Benefits of Offshore\nWind Power Deployment in China

With the rapid decline in the levelized cost, offshore\nwind power\noffers a new option for the clean energy transition of the power sector\nin China’s coastal areas. Here, we develop a power system capacity\nexpansion and operation optimization model to simulate the penetration\nof offshore wind power in China and quantify the associated health\neffects. We find that offshore wind power has great potential in mitigating\nthe negative impacts of existing coal-fired power emissions. By deploying\ncost-competitive offshore wind power, it is projected that by 2050,\noffshore wind power would contribute 2% to 5% (306–654 TWh)\nof China’s total electricity generation, cumulatively reducing\npollutants from the electricity sector by 3% and preventing 165,000\npremature deaths. Notably, with the implementation of incentive policies,\nthe scale of offshore wind power deployment expands two to three times,\nyielding public health benefits that far outweigh the costs of policy\nimplementation.