Floating platforms could open up swathes of the ocean with water depths beyond 60 metres to the offshore wind sector. To tap into those areas, though, floating offshore wind first needs to become less expensive. A European research project is looking to secure some of those price gains to make the technology finally competitive
A European research effort is looking to help cut the cost of floating offshore wind by at least 15%
OCEAN EXPLORATION Bottom-fixed offshore wind development is limited by the maximum water depth that foundations can access—floating turbines open up huge areas of ocean with near-constant wind resource
COPY AND PASTE The pursuit of standardised designs will open up cost reduction through economies of scale
KEY QUOTE We are already seeing that costs are going down with the innovations that we are looking at ...
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Increasing pressure on offshore wind farm developers, record low electricity prices, coupled with the potential for higher margins than bottom-fixed foundations and the entry of oil and gas giants in the field, means the time is ripe for floating offshore wind, says Luis González-Pinto Barrenetxea, COO of Saitec Offshore
Combining untried wave power with well proved wind on a floating platform may forge a path to commercialisation of a hybrid solution to harnessing the energy of the seas.
Robots have long been used by the offshore oil and gas sector to reduce the costs of installing facilities and operations and maintenance. The offshore renewables sector is starting to benefit from the technology, which could help it make significant cost savings if certain technical hurdles can be overcome
Offshore wind attracts investment, jobs and has the ability to severely cut emissions worldwide, which is why the world should aim for 1,400 GW of capacity by 2050, argue Benj Sykes and Stephen Bull, Co-Chairs of Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition (OREAC), a global coalition of offshore wind companies and international institutions on World Oceans Day (June 8)
Europe’s offshore wind revolution requires a more integrated approach