The costs of floating offshore wind in Europe could decrease from the current EUR 180-200 per MWh to EUR 40-60 per MWh by 2030 with the right visibility in terms of volumes and industrialization, according to WindEurope’s Policy Blueprint.
The technology has the potential to cement Europe’s leadership in renewables globally as EU countries lead three-quarters of the 50+ floating wind projects across the world today, but in order to reach the goal dedicated policies are required, WindEurope stated.
The blueprint writes that the EU Member States need to set ambitions for capacity, project pipelines and supporting policies for floating wind in their National Energy and Climate Plans (NEPCs) to 2030 and coordinate deployment schedules to maximize regional cooperation in the development of a European supply chain.
According to the document, the EU should publish the aggregated volume of projects to 2030 to enable a clear market visibility for investors and industry, as well as provide access to low-cost financing, increase Research & Innovation funding focused on cost competitiveness and dedicate cohesion funds to support coastal areas upgrading its infrastructure to facilitate floating wind development.
The right policy measures are expected to permit a large-scale commercialization of floating offshore wind, which means driving down costs and contributing to European competitiveness.
Maximizing the local economic benefits of a nascent supply chain would ensure that cost reduction continues through economies of scale, low financing costs and Research & Innovation (R&I) funding, WindEurope said.
Europe currently has only one operating floating offshore wind farm, the 30MW Hywind Scotland , which began delivering electricity in October 2017.