Global floating offshore wind power commercialization accelerates

Global floating offshore wind power commercialization accelerates

With the continuous innovation of technology, the development of offshore wind power is no longer limited to the offshore. Except for Norway, major offshore wind power development countries including China and the United Kingdom are all planning to develop floating offshore wind power projects. The commercialization process of floating offshore wind power, an emerging technology, has been significantly accelerated.
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Floating offshore wind power farther offshore and larger installed capacity

The Hywind Tampen wind farm is Norway’s first floating offshore wind farm, and the electricity it generates will mainly be used by two oil and gas production platforms located in the North Sea region of Europe. Once completed, the wind farm is expected to supply 35 percent of the electricity needed for oil and gas production in the region. It is reported that the floating offshore wind farm plans to install 11 floating offshore wind turbines, and at least 7 of them will be erected within this year.

It is understood that, unlike traditional fixed offshore wind farms, floating offshore wind power uses floating platforms, which has a relatively shorter construction and development cycle, relatively less damage to the seabed, and is relatively more friendly to the surrounding ecological environment. Hywind Scotland, the world’s first full-capacity floating offshore wind farm, was also developed by Norway and was first put into operation in 2017. The installed capacity of the wind farm is 30,000 kilowatts, and the development water depth is 95 meters to 120 meters.

It is generally believed in the industry that when the water depth exceeds 50 meters, the cost of geological survey, construction and other aspects of offshore wind power projects will increase. To further develop offshore wind energy resources, floating offshore wind power is an inevitable choice.

Floating offshore wind power farther offshore and larger installed capacity

According to public information, the offshore distance of the Hywind Tampen wind farm put into operation this time has exceeded 140 kilometers, and the construction water depth has reached 260 to 300 meters. Not only has it far exceeded the level of the fixed offshore wind farm that is currently the mainstream of the industry, which is 50 kilometers offshore and within 50 meters of water depth, it has also surpassed the previous floating offshore wind power projects.

Many countries are making efforts to develop floating offshore wind power

According to estimates, nearly 80% of the world’s exploitable wind resources are concentrated in deep sea areas. This means that floating offshore wind power still has huge potential to be tapped. At the same time, with its multiple advantages in environmental protection and development scope, the blue ocean of floating offshore wind power development as an emerging technology has emerged.

In recent years, in addition to Norway, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other countries have also begun to try to develop floating offshore wind power. As one of the first countries to develop offshore wind power, the United Kingdom has announced an installed target of 1 million kilowatts of floating offshore wind power by 2030.

In 2021, the country’s new installed capacity of floating offshore wind power will be close to 50,000 kilowatts, making it the country with the fastest growing installed capacity of floating offshore wind power. In September this year, the United States also announced that it will build large-scale floating offshore wind power, and set a development goal of “building 15 million kilowatts of floating offshore wind power by 2035”. By 2035, the cost of floating offshore wind power is expected to drop by more than 70% from the current basis, reaching $45/MWh.

Many countries are making efforts to develop floating offshore wind power

As energy demand increases across Asia, various energy storage solutions continue to develop. Asian countries are also quite optimistic about the prospect of floating offshore wind power. For Japan, floating offshore wind power has brought opportunities for the development of offshore energy.

Restricted by the complex seabed conditions in Japan’s coastal waters, the development of fixed offshore wind power in Japan has always been relatively slow, but with the rise of floating offshore wind power technology. Since last year, many Japanese companies have announced that they will build floating offshore wind farms in Japan’s far sea areas. In China, within this year, Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan and other coastal provinces have also started the construction of floating offshore wind power projects.

The demand for multi-scenario integration is highlighted

It is worth noting that judging from the currently announced floating offshore wind power projects, the integrated development of multiple scenarios has become a major trend in the field of floating offshore wind power. Norway pointed out that the development of floating offshore wind farms is an important step in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the oil and gas production sector.

Norwegian industry experts said that the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm can not only help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, but also help the European continent to use low-carbon natural gas. The Norwegian continental shelf is expected to transform from a traditional oil and gas production area to a full energy supply area. According to calculations, the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm in Norway can help oil and gas production in the region reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 200,000 tons per year.

In addition to helping offshore oil and gas fields reduce emissions, the demand for integration of floating offshore wind power with hydrogen production, fishery and other industries is also growing. In September this year, European hydrogen producer Lhyfe announced that it had built the world’s first floating offshore wind power hydrogen production demonstration project in France, with an estimated daily green hydrogen output of 400 kg.

The demand for multi-scenario integration is highlighted

In China, both Guangdong and Fujian provinces have carried out the demonstration project of “floating wind power + marine ranch” to promote the development model of “water power generation and underwater fish farming”. In the future, global floating offshore wind power installed capacity is expected to grow rapidly, especially with the support of major oil and gas producers, floating offshore wind power technology is expected to be commercialized around 2025.

However, although the floating offshore wind power market is hot, many industry organizations also pointed out that factors such as high costs and unclear policies will greatly affect the development trend of floating offshore wind power. At present, floating offshore wind power is still in the early stage of development. To achieve cost reduction, large-scale unit capacity of wind turbines, large-scale development of floating offshore wind power, and optimized design of floating foundation and other components will be feasible paths.

In addition to the bottleneck in the development of the floating offshore wind power supply chain, the development prospects of floating offshore wind power still largely depend on policies and regulations. The absence or delay of policies is likely to cause the growth of floating offshore wind power installed capacity to fall short of expectations.

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