The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has launched the Floating Offshore Wind Task Force with the aim to accelerate the growth of the sector.
The first actions will be to define the priority markets for offshore wind, and engage with relevant local associations, policymakers and NGOs in the fishing, marine mammals and ports sectors through conferences, seminars and workshops to promote and educate stakeholders about the floating offshore sector and to share best practices.
Members include Equinor, GE Renewable Energy, Iberdrola, Ideol, the Japanese Wind Power Association, MHI Vestas, Ørsted, Principle Power, RenewableUK, Siemens Gamesa, Shell, Stiesdal, wpd, and The World Bank Group.
The Floating Offshore Wind Task Force will be chaired by GWEC Global Offshore Wind Ambassador Henrik Stiesdal, and Vice-Chaired by Maf Smith, former Deputy CEO of RenewableUK.
“We are at a turning point for floating offshore wind, with rapid acceleration taking place in markets around the world. To ensure the success of the industry and achieve the cost reduction needed to ramp up deployment of the technology, we need to see coordination amongst the leading market players and share our experiences in the different pioneer markets emerging globally,” said Stiesdal .
“This Task Force will be an important forum to facilitate this exchange and establish a common voice to provide best practices for the industry when entering new markets to expedite the immense growth potential of this important technology.”
As of the end of 2019, 65.7 MW of floating offshore wind capacity was installed globally, in the UK, Japan, Portugal, Norway and France, GWEC said.
According to GWEC Market Intelligence forecasts, 6.2 GW of floating offshore wind is likely to be built by 2030 given the current project pipeline, however, this could be increased to up to 19 GW if cost reduction is accelerated.