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The deployment of floating offshore wind is expected to pick up in the next decade, with Europe set to dominate the market, according to a recent analysis from Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy. 

Offshore wind installations, including both traditional or ‘bottom-fixed’ wind turbines and floating ones, will exceed 520 gigawatts (GW) by 2040, the analysis found. 

Europe will play a crucial role in the growth of the still-nascent floating wind industry as it strives to meet ambitious national targets. By 2040, Europe is expected to account for 70% of global floating wind installed outside of China. The United Kingdom, France and Portugal are leading developments. 

The analysis does not include developments in mainland China, which already dominates the offshore wind market, to better understand the rest of the international scene. The world’s floating wind capacity, excluding China, is expected to reach 90 GW by 2040. 

Notably, Ørsted, the world’s largest offshore wind producer, has “deprioritized” floating wind for the time being because the floating platforms are not yet “industrialized,” CEO Mads Nipper said at a Dynamo Energy Hub event at Climate Week in New York last week, referring to the fact that the tech is not yet produced at scale. But he did say floating turbines could take off in the future.  

Rystad’s analysis found the floating wind sector is grappling with supply chain constraints that could hinder its advancement in the short term, as reflected in the chart above. 

Floating wind calls for completely new construction logistics. Most offshore wind turbines today are assembled largely at sea and fixed to the seabed in shallow waters, hence the name bottom-fixed. Floating wind turbines, in contrast, are mostly constructed in sheltered waters near ports before being towed to deeper waters at sea, as Cipher has reported.