Comprehensive Guide to a Floating Offshore Wind Farm launched to support industry learning
A novel interactive online guide created to aid the acceleration of commercial floating offshore wind development has today been published by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.
The Guide to a Floating Offshore Wind Farm is an online interactive guide on the fundamentals of floating offshore wind technology.
Funded by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOW CoE), The Crown Estate, and Crown Estate Scotland, and delivered in collaboration with BVG Associates, the guide contains a visual illustration of the full lifecycle of a floating offshore wind farm. It also brings to life the latest advances powering the development of this exciting technology.
The guide seeks to help companies and stakeholders develop a greater understanding of the components and processes involved in the development of floating offshore wind farms. This, in turn can support supply chain development and highlight how the UK can seize opportunities from the growing global offshore wind sector, expected to be worth an estimated £30 billion per annum by 2030.
Although in the early stages of its development, floating offshore wind technology is set grow significantly, with 6 - 10 GW of capacity expected to be operational by the end of 2030.
Ralph Torr, Head of Floating Wind at ORE Catapult, said: “This guide will be hugely beneficial in helping a broad range of stakeholders develop an understanding of floating offshore wind projects and technologies - from those directly involved in floating wind project development, to those with an interest and ambition to learn more about this exciting industry. A common understanding is key to ensuring that stakeholders are able to support the development of the industry effectively in the coming years. The purpose of the Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence is to accelerate the build out of a successful floating wind industry and this resource is another important tool in achieving that.”
Ben Miller, Development Manager at Crown Estate Scotland, said: “Floating wind technology is set to play a crucial role in the UK’s energy transition, allowing turbines to be sited in previously inaccessible areas of the sea. A number of ScotWind’s 20 projects are floating wind so this new guide will be a welcome resource in helping to explain what is still an emerging technology. Floating wind lies at the heart of Scotland’s efforts to tackle the climate emergency and secure the UK’s energy supply and this guide can help ensure that huge potential is understood by all.”
Tim Stiven, Sector Lead for Floating Wind at The Crown Estate, said: “Floating offshore wind is an exciting new technology which is shaping up to be the next frontier in the UK’s transition to a more sustainable future. People will understandably have questions about what this means for them; so whether it’s maximising the commercial opportunities of a new supply chain or understanding any impacts on local communities, guides such as this have an important role to play in developing a shared understanding of floating offshore wind and how to engage with its development.”
Bruce Valpy, Managing Director of BVG Associates, added: "Floating offshore wind will play a key role in the global expansion of offshore wind over the next decade. BVG Associates has always sought to make a difference though providing clear, accessible, relevant information for all those looking to understand the technology, supply chain and economics of offshore wind and we hope this floating guide, both a document and interactive website, continues with that mission.”
The guide builds on the success of the 2019 launch of Guide to an Offshore Wind Farm (Guide to an Offshore Wind Farm – ORE (catapult.org.uk) for fixed offshore wind, and comes just days before the industry gathers at RenewableUK’s Global Offshore Wind 2023 conference in London.
