Tim Eyles, Vice President of marine energy and infrastructure services company Acteon, explains how a risk-based holistic approach can reduce operation and maintenance costs, improve long-term margins and extend asset life.
The opportunities and challenges for floating wind operators
The global offshore floating wind market is set to expand, and with this, there will be numerous challenges and risks for operators pursuing new projects. According to one research study, floating wind capacity is forecast to reach more than 25 GW by the middle of the next decade, from just under 60 MW today.
The UK is projected to be the market leader by 2035, with about 8 GW of total capacity, followed by the USA with close to 5 GW. Some forecasts estimate that floating wind will generate about 260 GW by 2050, equivalent to 15% of all offshore wind energy and 3,000 times greater than the output of Hywind Tampen, the largest floating wind installation at present.