Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has announced the formation of a Floating Offshore Wind Task Force with participation of industry players and associations to drive global growth of floating offshore wind. According to GWEC Market Intelligence forecasts, 6.2GW of floating offshore wind is likely to be built by 2030 given the current project pipeline. However, this forecast could be increased to up to 19GW if cost reduction is accelerated.
The Floating Offshore Wind Task Force will be chaired by GWEC Global Offshore Wind Ambassador Henrik Stiesdal, and Vice-Chaired by Maf Smith, floating offshore wind expert and former Deputy CEO of RenewableUK.
Members of the Task Force consist of stakeholders in the floating offshore wind sector, including: Equinor, GE Renewable Energy, Iberdrola, Ideol, the Japanese Wind Power Association, MHI Vestas, Ørsted, Principle Power, RenewableUK, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Shell, Stiesdal, wpd, and The World Bank Group.
The first actions of the Task Force will be to define the priority markets for offshore wind, and engage with the relevant local associations, policymakers and NGOs in the fishing, marine mammals and ports sectors through a sequence of conferences, seminars and workshops to promote and educate stakeholders about the floating offshore sector and to share best practices.