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A new research project, called WindSCORE, has been launched to develop a comprehensive 360-degree evaluation system for offshore wind projects. According to the WindSCORE partners, the project aims to support more holistic assessment and decision-making across the sector.
WindSCORE, which kicked off in December 2025, is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES) together with a European consortium that includes partners from Germany, Norway and France: Fondation Open-C, SINTEF, Statnett, TÜV SÜD, Bio-Littoral and Equinor.
The project is co-funded under the EU’s Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) by national organisations including Germany’s PTJ/BMWE, France’s RPL and Norway’s RCN.
Over the next three years, WindSCORE will create a scientifically grounded toolbox that integrates economic, technical, sustainability and social criteria into a single evaluation framework for offshore wind developments.
WindSCORE responds to growing complexity in the offshore wind sector, including changing tender designs, emerging technologies, challenging locations and increasing emphasis on environmental and social factors, the project consortium says.
Existing assessment approaches often address only individual aspects such as cost or technical risk, and WindSCORE seeks to unify these into a 360° KPI-based system that can better inform investors, authorities and other stakeholders, according to Fraunhofer IWES.
”The development of the offshore wind industry is a central pillar of the energy transition. To ensure long-term social, political, and economic acceptance and minimize risks in the value chain, the WindSCORE project is developing a transparent, comprehensible 360° KPI-based evaluation system” , said Marcel Wiggert , responsible for project cooperation at Fraunhofer IWES.