The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) have established a floating offshore wind task force with the participation of key players and organisations from the global industry to accelerate the global growth of offshore wind.

Floating offshore wind is a significant market opportunity, and can increase offshore wind resource by tenfold by opening new markets where fixed-bottom offshore wind would not be possible.

By the end of 2019, in the UK, Japan, Portugal, Norway and France, 65.7 MW of floating offshore wind capacity had been installed.

In the light of the current project pipeline, 6.2 GW of floating offshore wind is likely to be built by 2030, according to GWEC Market Intelligence forecasts. However, if cost cutting is accelerated, this forecast could be increased to up to 19 GW.

“We are at a turning point for floating offshore wind, with rapid acceleration taking place in markets around the world. To ensure the success of the industry and achieve the cost reduction needed to ramp up deployment of the technology, we need to see coordination amongst the leading market players and share our experiences in the different pioneer markets emerging globally. This Task Force will be an important forum to facilitate this exchange and establish a common voice to provide best practices for the industry when entering new markets to expedite the immense growth potential of this important technology.”

Henrik Stiesdal, chair of the floating offshore wind task force.

“Offshore wind will be a key driver of the energy transition, with some industry stakeholders calling for over 1,400GW of offshore wind capacity installed by 2050. To reach this goal, expediting the development of floating offshore wind is crucial to deploy turbines in deeper waters and unlock up to ten times more offshore wind resource than is possible with fixed-bottom turbines alone. We are thrilled to have Henrik Stiesdal chairing this important Task Force as a pioneer of the floating offshore sector, and are confident that through his insights and the experience of the other Task Force members, we will be able to address the most urgent barriers for growth of the sector and spur a new era of offshore wind.”

Ben Backwell, CEO at GWEC.

Members of the Task Force consist of leading stakeholders in the floating offshore wind sector, including: Equinor, GE Renewable Energy, Iberdrola, Ideol, the Japanese Wind Power Association, MHI Vestas, Ørsted, Principle Power, RenewableUK, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Shell, Stiesdal, wpd, and The World Bank Group.