Page 19: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2024)

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MARKETS FLOATING WIND here has been much excitement around the po- meters). Australia and India hold signifcant potential, but tential for the offshore wind industry to access commissioning of commercial scale foating wind projects deeper water sites through the deployment of is unlikely until around the middle of the next decade.

T foating wind technology. Europe will see foating wind deployment in the Atlan-

Further, there has been much discussion around the tic, Baltic, Mediterranean and North Sea, with the UK development and deployment of disruptive technologies (80-150 meters) and Norwegian (200-400 meters) mar- to leverage the opportunity of foating wind. However, in kets likely to drive activity through this and the frst half the short- to medium-term, there is insuffcient time to of the next decade. mature early-stage concepts to the high degree of techni- In the U.S., the frst commercial scale projects will be off cal readiness that will satisfy classifcation societies, banks, California (500-1,300 meters). Future activity is planned insurance companies and others. This means that foating off Oregon (550-1,500 meters), the Gulf of Maine (190- wind will need to lean heavily on the supply chains devel- 300 meters) and the Central Atlantic (over 2,000 meters). oped to support the offshore oil & gas industry. Canada is also investing foating wind, but this is at the

In this article we look at some of the similarities and early stages. differences between the deepwater oil & gas segment and The oil & gas industry has much experience working in the emerging foating wind segment, concluding with our the water depths discussed for foating wind. The bigger concern that we do not have the right number or the right challenges come in the quantities involved. type of vessels for the effcient construction of commercial scale foating wind farms.

Commercial Scale Floating Wind

Floating wind is an emerging technology. At end of

Deeper Water & Floating Wind 223, total global foating offshore wind capacity was less

The current foating wind hotspots are found in the than 250 MW out of a total offshore wind capacity of

APAC, European and North American regions. 64 GW. We forecast total installed foating wind capac-

In APAC, we look to China (100 -125 meters), South ity of ~6.25 GW by the end of 2030 and close to 70

Korea (130-275 meters) and Taiwan’s pilot arrays (~100 GW by 2035.

MAy/june 2024 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 19