Could floating turbines be the future of offshore wind? Floating turbine installations could mark a breakthrough in the UK’s wind power future as they benefit from higher wind speeds in the deep open sea, The Guardian wrote on Saturday. One of the leading examples is the Kincardine project, which is the largest floating offshore wind farm in the world with a 50 MW capacity. Each of the project’s turbines is tethered to the seabed by cables, allowing for installations in water of greater depth unlike traditional offshore wind turbines which have their scope of development limited to relatively shallow coastal waters.

Floating turbines are struggling to catch on: While the UK’s floating wind capacity was the second highest globally after Norway, it still represents only 0.6% of the 14 GW contributed by the UK’s fixed offshore windfarms. The floating installations are set to continue to lag behind fixed wind farms with a 5 GW capacity versus a capacity of 60 GW for the latter under the British government’s net zero targets for 2030.

One of the biggest obstacles is high costs: Floating offshore wind is costly, standing at GBP 176 per megawatt-hour compared to GBP 73 per mWh for fixed offshore wind. The UK’s small ports also present a challenge, requiring expansion to be able to accommodate giant turbines and floating foundations. Some GBP 4 bn will be needed to develop new port infrastructure to support the technology by the end of the decade, according to industry experts.

This could change soon: Pre-qualified developers have been invited earlier this month to submit plans to develop three floating offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea. This will help accelerate the development of floating wind projects. Industry group RenewableUK sees floating offshore wind projects accounting for half of the UK’s offshore wind generation by 2040s.

MENA has yet to tap into its offshore wind potential: Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, and Oman have high potential for offshore wind, with the entire region holding the potential to generate around 1.4 TW worth of offshore wind energy, according to the Global Offshore Wind report (pdf) by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Morocco was granted a USD 2 bn grant by The European Investment Bank recently to conduct a feasibility study for offshore wind, and has the potential to generate around 200 GW in offshore wind power according to previous GWEC studies. Saudi Arabia has an overall offshore capacity of 106 GW along its eastern and western coasts, the report adds.

Tags: