Despite Challenges, Floating Offshore Wind Capacity Continues to Grow

By The Maritime Executive 2026-10-11 20:22:27

The world is recording a significant increase in electricity being generated by floating offshore wind farms, with a new report showing that operational capacity has increased by 38 percent over the past 12 months.

Despite the offshore wind industry grappling with mounting challenges – including regulatory obstacles, soaring capital costs and supply chain bottlenecks among others – its costliest variant, floating turbine installations, is still making headway. 

The latest edition of RenewableUK’s EnergyPulse report now shows that the operational capacity from floating offshore wind increased from 277 MW to 382 MW over the 12-month period ending in October, representing a 38 percent increase.

Europe continues to demonstrate its leadership in floating offshore wind, with Norway adding 97 MW to its grid, followed by France at 87 MW and the UK with 78 MW of new operational capacity. In Asia, China added 72 MW into its grid followed by Japan with 22 MW.

Since the start of 2026 alone, a total of 109 MW in new capacity has gone operational, beating the previous record of 108 MW set in 2023. Two specific projects in France and Japan have added 30 MW and 17 MW respectively.

Though the offshore wind industry is going through a tough period – particularly in the U.S., where the Trump administration has spent nearly $4 billion to buy back federal leases and halt major projects – the push for offshore wind remains unrelenting in other regions.

Across the globe, some 300 floating offshore wind projects with a capacity to generate 152 GW are at various stages of development, spanning the coastlines of 26 countries.

According to the report, some 1.7 GW of floating offshore wind is projected to be added to the global grid by 2030, with China expected to account for 66 percent of the capacity followed by the UK with 16 percent. Over the coming decade, China, the UK and South Korea are expected to be the epicenters of floating wind markets, with the UK expected to account for around 85 percent of Europe’s total capacity followed by France and Norway.

As the industry continues to grow, new markets are also emerging. Greece is a case in point. The country has 1.6 GW of capacity earmarked for future leasing and a further 8.8 GW under consideration. Ireland and Chile are other emerging markets with their floating pipeline reaching 3.8 GW and 2.3 GW respectively.

“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 capitalize on our position as a global leader in this innovative technology,” said Tara Singh, RenewableUK CEO.

Singh added that in the UK alone, the floating offshore wind sector has the potential to support 97,000 jobs by 2050, contributing $62 billion to the economy.