For offshore wind to meet growing demand for renewable energy it must expand. In certain new and emerging offshore wind markets, there is limited potential for fixed-bottom projects and floating wind is required. Sites further from shore also tend to benefit from more consistent wind resource, meaning floating wind can deliver higher yields.
A commercial future for floating
The Floating Wind JIP is a world leading collaborative R&D initiative between the Carbon Trust and 17 leading international offshore wind developers (bp, EDF Renouvables, EnBW, Equinor, Kyuden Mirai Energy, Ørsted, Ocean Winds, Parkwind, RWE Renewables, ScottishPower Renewables, Shell, Skyborn Renewables, SSE Renewables, TEPCO, Tohoku Electric Power Company, Total Energies and Vattenfall), created to overcome the challenges and investigate the opportunities of developing commercial-scale floating wind farms.
Since its formation in 2016, the JIP has delivered numerous studies outlining the critical needs for the sector to reach cost parity with other low carbon energy sources, and run innovation competitions to support the development of viable technologies with the potential to meet some of these needs.
The Floating Wind JIP’s work is prioritised around industry-identified innovation needs and includes projects in the following areas:
- Electrical systems
- Mooring systems
- Logistics
- Turbine and foundation optimisation
- Asset integrity
Phase V report
Read the latest from the Floating Wind JIP in the Phase V summary report. This highlights ongoing technology challenges and innovation opportunities alongside analysis on the state of the offshore floating market.
History of the Floating Wind JIP
Stage I of the Floating Wind JIP began in 2016, and its workstreams included:
- Policy and regulation: outlining the policy and regulatory requirements for the floating wind industry
- Cost sensitivity analysis: assessing the current and expected future cost of floating wind, including sensitivity attributed to changing environmental and technical parameters
- Technology and risk: assessing technology risks to developing, constructing, and operating a floating wind farm, together with identification of key innovation needs
These projects identified several critical focus areas that need to be addressed in order to commercialise floating wind technology.
Stage II was then launched to undertake more detailed assessments of key technology challenges common to multiple floating wind concepts and to support innovation to develop the solutions needed for large-scale floating wind arrays. Details of the projects covered in each phase of Stage II are available via the links at the top of this page.
Tenders
Ongoing tenders for projects under the Floating Wind JIP will be posted on our tenders page.
Floating Wind JIP Partners
Floating Wind JIP Advisory Group
Since Stage II - Phase IV, the Floating Wind JIP has been supported by an Advisory Group comprised of leading floating wind platform developers and turbine manufacturers. The Advisory Group members provide input and feedback on technical assumptions and support the definition of component and technology requirements for generic floating wind projects.
