Net zero targets see offshore wind sector put under time pressure

The floating offshore wind sector will have to ove r come “huge ” mobilisation challenges in order to ge t up and running, according to an industry expert.

Ralph Torr, programme manager for ORE Catapu lt ’s F loating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence, also says the industry is facing “unique” time pressures due to the impact of net zero targets.

I t fo l low s the announcement by Boris Johnson earlier this week that the UK Government has set a target to deliver 1 gigawatt (GW) of floating offshore wind energy by the end of the decade, more than 15 times the cu r r en t vo lum e s worldwide.

The north-east has found itself at the middle o f the eme rg ing technology in Scotland in recent years.

Equinor’s 30 megawatt (MW) Hywind Scotland development, around 15

miles off the coast of Peterhead, became the world’s first commercial floating offshore wind farm in 2017.

Meanwhile, three of the five foundations for the 50 MW Kincardine Offshore Floating Wind Farm are en route to Rotterdam, where the turbines will be mounted before being towed to a site nine miles south-east of Aberdeen.

Mr Torr claims the sector still has a number of hurdles to contend with if it is going to establish itself as a mainstream source of energy.

As part of RenewableUK & Scottish Renewables virtual Floating Offshore Wind conference, he said: “The opportun it ies associated with floating offshore wind are pretty immense.”

The UK Government has set a 1 GW energy target.