Offshore staff
LONDON — RenewableUK says the total number of floating offshore wind projects has increased over the past year from 230 to 285.
The association’s latest EnergyPulse Insights report also found that 227 MW of floating offshore wind are fully operational across 14 projects in seven countries. Norway leads with 94 MW across three projects, followed by the UK with 80 MW (two projects), Portugal with 25 MW (one project) and China with 19 MW (three projects).
Elsewhere Japan has 5 MW installed capacity (two projects), Spain 2.225 MW (two projects) and France 2 MW (one project).
Worldwide, three floating offshore wind projects are under construction with combined capacity of 46 MW, while 11 are either consented or in the pre-construction phase (576 MW).
Another 80 projects (68 GW) are in the planning system or have a lease agreement, and a further 177 projects (175 GW) are in early development or subject of a lease application.
Close to two-thirds of floating offshore wind capacity announced to date—160 GW—is for European waters, with 14% of this in the UK. Elsewhere, developments are mainly off the US west coast, the south-east coast of Australia, and offshore South Korea.
Italy has the largest project pipeline (40,071 GW), but most of its 47 projects schemes remain at an early stage of development, with only one (90 MW) submitted into the planning system.
Demand for floating foundations looks set to rise quickly, with the potential for 472 in the UK alone by the end of 2032, and 1,369 floating foundations offshore Europe and 1,924 for projects globally by the end of 2032.
In the UK, RenewableUK predicts that floating offshore wind will account for over half total offshore wind power generation by 2050.
The association adds that the government’s target of 5 GW of floating wind in UK waters by 2030 remains achievable, however the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction and future lease rounds must be designed to help developers maximize deployment, reduce costs and incentivize investment in domestic supply chains.
This year’s CfD auction did not secure any new floating wind capacity.
RenewableUK’s chief executive Dan McGrail, co-chair of the Floating Wind Taskforce, said, “To ensure that the UK seizes the industrial benefits of developing state-of-the-art technology and revitalizing 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.
“Leveraging these projects will enable us to replicate the cost reductions we’ve seen in fixed-foundation offshore wind, as well as catalyzing supply chain development.
10.05.2023
