Floating wind gained an initial foothold in Britain with the development of the first
floating windfarms at Hywind and Kincardine. The success of these endeavours has
generated a large amount of interest in the technology, both in academia and in
industry. Moreover, the recent consultation by the government on a ring-fenced scheme
for floating wind[1], along with the expansion of The Crown Estate leasing rounds to
deep water[2], mean that it won't be long before multi-megawatt floating wind farms
appear as attractive to project developers as their fixed bottom alternatives.
However, there is a large jump from demonstrator sites with 5 structures to commercial
arrays of over 100 units. The transition throws up numerous uncertainties at all stages of
the project lifetime, which in turn affect the financial assessment and bankability of
floating wind. The aim of this project is to tackle some of the issues currently affecting the
bankability of the technology.