Floating offshore wind pipeline grows to 85GW

Deployment will take off first in the UK, France, South Korea, Japan and Norway, report says

The global pipeline of floating offshore wind projects has reached 85GW, with more than 10GW on track for commissioning before 2030, according to a recent report by UK government-backed innovation centre ORE Catapult. Of the planned capacity, 17GW has already secured site control or exclusivity but only c.500MW has received full consent and is fully permitted, the report says. Offshore wind is dominated by fixed-bottom turbine technology and, while pilot floating turbines have been installed throughout the world, only three commercial projects have begun operations—in the UK and Portugal. Development of new floating projects is likely to accelerate in the UK, France, South Korea, Japan, and