Floating wind turbine platforms are emerging as a way to boost the switch toward green energy. The world has already seen enough impacts of technology and development on the globe. And this has further forced the industries to shift towards environmentally friendly ways of development. The industry, therefore, can be foreseen to grow. According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global floating wind turbine market is anticipated to reach $30.6 billion by 2027. The demand for renewable power sources is highly increasing.
Growing concern from government across the globe regarding renewable power source is anticipated to boost floating wind turbine market growth. In addition, around 80% of the offshore wind resources are located in waters of more than 60 meter depth, where fixed offshore turbines are not effective. As the floating structure can harness wind resources even at deep water levels, it is more effective in narrow continental shelf region with sea water depth more than 200 meter. In addition, a floating wind turbine can decrease the cost of energy production more than that of a fixed wind turbine in case of long-term business. For instance, the present levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for wind turbine in Europe is around $220-$245 which is expected to reach $50-$73 by 2030.
Floating turbines also have a higher capacity factor and have low carbon emission, which further augment their demand. Moreover, the advancements in wind turbine structure pave the way for numerous opportunities. The investments and funding for new projects are increasing, and government bodies are taking initiatives for further developments. Also, industry players are adopting further strategies to contribute to advanced technologies and expand the market field. Nevertheless, with all these aspects, the market is expected to witness exponential growth in the coming future.
Floating wind turbine platforms are evolving as one of the most electrifying technical advances for the wind industry. The concept of floating wind turbines is highly gaining popularity over conventional offshore wind turbines as it offers numerous advantages. For starters, floating wind turbines are getting access to far-fetched wind resources over deep waters. Secondly, offshore wind witnesses numerous challenges, including island resistances. The advent of floating wind turbines has minimized the challenge without competing for land. On top of these, floating wind turbines are cost-efficient as they require less construction material. At the same time, it does not require marine engineering expertise for assembling.
Presently, a small fraction of the offshore wind resource can be accessed worldwide, owing to various limitations. These prototypes, therefore, are still in their infancy and need time for mass production and commercialization. At the same time, the numerous challenges faced by the wind industry are further leading toward innovative and efficient options to remain insistent. The perks of floating wind turbines, on the other hand, are gaining admiration followed by high investments. Also, the market players are approaching different strategies to expand the prospects of the industry. Simultaneously, a number of activities are transpiring in the market field. Moreover, this article aims to articulate a few of them.
Joint ventures are highly trending among the market players. Consecutively, the investments for new and innovative projects based on green energy are also gaining traction all across the world. Shell, a global energy company, announced a joint venture with Simply Blue Energy, a transformative and sustainable marine projects developer based in Ireland. The venture is established for the Emerald project that involves a floating wind farm in Ireland based Celtic sea. The project is in the infancy and intends to achieve the huge potential for vast floating wind in the Irish area of the sea. Moreover, the infrastructure to power the large-scale project is specially designed and is expected to augment the energy independence in the region along with reducing emissions.
Sea Twirl, another Swedish company and developer of vertical-axis floating wind turbines, announced it has recently granted a patent for its divisible wind turbine from the Japanese Patent Office. As stated by the company, the patent secures a way out for the wind turbine wherever it is divisible above or below the house where the generator is fixed. The company added it minimizes the cost for installation and maintenance along with reducing the downtime at the same time. Moreover, the company aims to put the commercial unit for sale and then contribute to developing a floating offshore wind farm by the approaching time.
Apart from the companies, the government bodies are also investing in new projects. In order to support green technologies, the U.K. government has recently announced funding of more than £90 million. The government has set three challenges that include offshore wind, energy storage, and biomass production. Nearly £20 million would be utilized to augment the potential of floating offshore wind technology. Moreover, the stride aims to reinforce the nation in many ways, including higher employment, low deployment costs, and to confront climate change.
The need to constantly improve efficient, eco-friendly and lower-cost options for energy generation is at the top. Though floating wind turbines are coming out to be an effective way, however, its high cost of installation limits its popularity to a certain extent. Despite that, it carries huge potential to hold huge offshore wind energy sources.