Game changers | Floating Offshore Wind – Introducing scale

Floating offshore wind has the potential to expand rapidly to deliver the renewable energy capacity the world needs. 2021 was a breakthrough year for the sector.

In 2021 the UK’s Kincardine floating offshore wind farm came online, taking global floating offshore wind capacity to 139 MW. Development activity has continued to accelerate in a number of different markets, with leasing activity in France, the UK and California, and early-stage development activity in a wide variety of countries, including South Korea, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Colombia and Italy.

An important feature of floating offshore wind is the significant presence of several large European oil and gas companies. These companies have unparalleled offshore engineering skills and financial strengths.

Opportunities in California, Ireland, Italy, Morocco and the Philippines. For these geographies to become hubs of floating offshore wind activity depends on one critical factor: policy ambition. Governments need to act as the catalyst for kickstarting successful floating offshore wind deployment, which can bring economic advantage and rapid action in emissions reduction. Policy and regulatory action are needed to support port infrastructure, supply chain, grid access and a route to market/revenue.

Long timeframes between inception and energisation mean that to see floating offshore wind growth from now into the 2030s, we need market frameworks over the next few years. Our experience of supporting market growth in countries like Japan, Vietnam, Brazil, Colombia and the Philippines shows that there is growing appetite across the globe, as well as an understanding of the readiness of floating offshore wind to support national goals to decarbonise and meet growing electricity demand.

With so many leading industry players, markets and untapped potential, floating offshore wind seems to be finally on the cusp of reaching the scale it needs to be a game changing technology.

This session will look at where are we now? What is likely to happen over the next few years? What are the most interesting markets for the industry? And more generally, are governments ready to make commit to ambitious policy to unleash the potential of floating offshore wind?

Speakers to be confirmed

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