By 2050, we predict that floating offshore wind will generate 264 GW or 15% of all offshore wind energy. To put this into context this is the equivalent to a development more than 3,000 times the size of Hywind Tampen, the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm, currently under construction in Norway, or 15,000 individual turbines. Likewise, floating solar has a bright future. The technology offers great potential for green energy production, particularly in areas where there is a shortage of available land for large photovoltaic plants.
These two white papers outline several important research needs facing floating renewables including a detailed look at the research needs for mooring systems in paper two.