Promoting Marine Carbon Neutrality through Offshore Energy Islands

 Offshore energy islands, serving as integrated marine carbon neutrality platforms that consolidate diverse ocean-based energy sources, are emerging as strategic pivots for safeguarding national energy security and propelling the green, low-carbon transition. Their development follows an evolutionary pathway from "platform-based" to "hub-type" to "network-type", providing a blueprint for the systematic exploitation and deep decarbonization of marine energy resources. This paper employs a case study methodology, conducting in-depth analyses of internationally representative projects such as Norway's Hywind Tampen and Denmark's Bornholm Island, to reveal the inherent logic of offshore energy islands as an effective carbon reduction pathway. We find that their core driver lies in addressing specific energy pain points such as high carbon emissions, while the key to success hinges on the synergy between technological feasibility and business model innovation, jointly constructing an economically sustainable carbon reduction closed-loop. Based on this, the study proposes that energy enterprises should systematically advance from four dimensions: strategic planning, differentiated layout, core technology breakthroughs, and industrial ecosystem development. This aims to accelerate the large-scale development of offshore energy islands in China and contribute a practical and forward-looking Chinese solution to global carbon neutrality efforts.