Global Floating Offshore Wind Project Pipeline Up by One-Third in a Year

Floating Wind

October 5, 2023, by Adnan Memija

The global floating offshore wind project pipeline has grown significantly in the last twelve months in terms of capacity from 185 a year ago to 244 GW now, which represents a 32 per cent increase, according to a new report published by RenewableUK.

The pipeline includes projects at any stage: fully operational, under construction, approved, in the planning system awaiting a decision, or at an early stage of development. In the last year, the number of projects globally has increased from 230 to 285, RenewableUK said.

So far, 227 MW of floating wind are fully operational across 14 projects in seven countries, according to the report.

Norway has the most with 94 MW across three projects, with Hywind Tampen being the largest floating offshore wind project in the world.

The UK is second with 80 MW (two projects), Portugal is third with 25 MW (one project), and China is fourth with 19 MW across three projects. Japan and Spain are developing two projects each with 5 MW and 2,225 MW of capacity, respectively.

Nearly two-thirds of floating wind announced so far worldwide are being developed in Europe, according to the report. Outside Europe, projects are being developed mainly off the coast of the USA, the southeast coast of Australia, and South Korea.

RenewableUK said that although Italy has the largest project pipeline (40,071 MW), nearly all of its 47 projects are at an early stage of development, with only one (90 MW) submitted into the planning system so far.

When it comes to the UK, RenewableUK predicts that floating wind will represent well over half of the country’s offshore wind generation by 2050, generating around GBP 43.6 billion in economic value and more than 29,000 jobs.

According to RenewableUK, the Government’s target of reaching 5 GW of floating wind by 2030 remains achievable, but the next Contract for Difference (CfD) auction and future rounds must be underpinned by sustainable parameters in order to maximise deployment, drive down costs, and incentivise investment in domestic supply chains.

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“To ensure that the UK seizes the industrial benefits of developing state-of-the-art technology and revitalising ports around the country, we need to see sustainable prices to enable stepping-stone projects to go ahead in a successful auction next year, and every year going forward,” said RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail, Co-Chair of the Floating Wind Taskforce.

“Leveraging these projects will enable us to replicate the cost reductions we’ve seen in fixed-foundation offshore wind, as well as catalysing supply chain development.”

This year’s CfD auction failed to secure any new floating wind capacity. According to the government, the global rise in inflation and the impact on supply chains presented challenges for projects participating in the latest auction round.