RenewableUK’s latest EnergyPulse report on floating offshore wind shows that the capacity of fully operational projects has surged worldwide from 277 megawatts 12 months ago to 382MW today – an increase of 38%.
Norway is in the lead with 97MW, followed by France at 87MW. The UK is in third place with 78MW, with China close behind on 72MW:
The report also notes that 2026 has already been the strongest calendar year for global floating wind deployment, with 109MW going fully operational, beating the previous record on 108MW set in 2023. This year’s total so far includes two projects in France (30MW) and one in Japan (17MW). In June, the UK Government and Japan agreed an Offshore Wind Compact deal unlocking £9 billion of Japanese investment in UK floating wind projects.
Globally, the total floating wind pipeline of projects at any stage of development (fully operational, under construction, consented, in the planning system or in early development) stands at 152 gigawatts across 300 projects in 26 countries:
Despite ranking second, the report states that the UK has by far the most credible floating wind pipeline globally. The UK is the only major market worldwide which has a substantial amount of capacity with lease agreements already in place, as well as projects progressing through the planning system, a functioning Contracts for Difference mechanism and projects that have already secured support. 274MW of floating capacity is expected to be operational in UK waters by the end of 2030, increasing to 1GW by 2032 and up to 3GW by 2034.
In contrast, the report notes that despite the size of its floating project pipeline, Italy has nothing operational or under construction yet. Its route to market for floating wind remains unclear, as its CfD mechanism has not yet been used for any offshore wind project. The future of the USA’s pipeline remains unclear due to political uncertainty under the current administration.
The report identifies new markets which are continuing to emerge worldwide. Greece has 1.6GW of floating wind earmarked for future leasing and a further 8.8GW under consideration. Malta is progressing its first project. Ireland's floating pipeline has reached 3.8GW, with further capacity expected after its national marine plan is published. Chile has two floating projects with a total capacity of 2.3GW.
The report forecasts 1.7GW of floating offshore wind could be operational globally by the end of 2030. China is expected to account for 66% of this capacity, followed by the UK with 16%. It states that China, the UK and South Korea are likely to be the only significant floating wind markets until the middle of the next decade. The UK is expected to account for around 85% of Europe’s floating offshore wind capacity by the mid-2030s, with France and Norway installing further projects later in the decade.
The UK has two fully operational floating wind projects – Kincardine (48MW) and Hywind (30MW) - and a project pipeline of 28.4GW. A total of 592.5 MW of floating wind capacity has secured a Contract for Difference, and 832MW are eligible for the latest Allocation Round (AR8) across five projects. Nearly 14GW of floating offshore wind capacity, all in Scotland, is currently moving through the offshore planning system. 4.5 GW of large-scale floating wind is now leased in the Celtic Sea.
RenewableUK CEO Tara Singh said:
'The extraordinary surge we’ve seen over the last twelve months in new floating wind projects going live worldwide shows that the UK has a great opportunity to capitalise on our position as a global leader in this innovative technology. This year’s report highlights the fact that the UK will remain the most significant floating offshore wind market in Europe into the next decade, and that our project pipeline is at a more advanced stage than many of our global competitors.
'To maintain our global lead, we’re urging the Government to set out clear ambitions for floating wind so that we can secure this strategic opportunity for the UK. Consistent deployment of new projects is the best way to cut costs significantly. This week’s report by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult shows that by standardising the design of major components like floating foundations, costs could fall by 17%. It also sets out measures to reduce the cost of financing new projects by 20%, which is one of the keys to making them cheaper to build.
'Floating wind is a strategic industrial opportunity to build up new supply chains and transition existing firms and jobs into clean energy. The sector could support 97,000 jobs by 2050, with many of the jobs based in Scottish and Welsh ports and supply chains, contributing £47 billion to our economy by building and supplying projects here as well as exporting our cutting-edge technology worldwide'.
The report comes a day before RenewableUK’s two-day Floating Offshore Wind conference and exhibition opens in Aberdeen.
More details on our EnergyPulse reports and access to the full interactive database, which is available to RenewableUK members and EnergyPulse subscribers, are available here.
Source: RenewableUK
