Developers are showing signs of pulling back from floating offshore wind as near-term growth expectations fall and confidence dips across parts of the value chain. These are the main findings from Westwood Global Energy Group’s annual Floating Offshore Wind Survey, which polled 166 stakeholders across the global floating wind value chain.
As developers retreat, survey respondents from across the globe suggest that it is time for governments to intervene with policies that address investment risk – a critical requirement for meeting commercial-scale ambitions.
In total, 72 % of respondents now anticipate less than 3 GW of global floating offshore wind capacity to be operational by 2030. Respondents included engineers, product developers, investors, government organisations and the broader supply chain.
The results show that while activity in 2024 – including new leasing rounds and subsidy announcements – suggested positive momentum, delivery delays, investment risk and slow policy implementation are prompting a more cautious stance across the industry.
Compared to the 2024 survey, the biggest swing in optimism has come from developers who have gone from the most optimistic group to the least confident, with 63 % feeling less optimistic than in 2024. All other business types also signalled less optimism, with near and long-term growth expectations shifting lower compared to 2024.
Among the reasons cited for the lack of optimism, the most prominent financial barriers were high upfront capital costs and limited investor confidence in new technology. Among non-financial hurdles, port infrastructure, lack of standardisation of technologies and low government support levels continue to dominate.
In a company statement, Bahzad Ayoub, Offshore Wind manager at Westwood, said: “Progress is happening, but too slowly. The frustration across the sector stems from knowing that momentum exists – but the pace is out of sync with expectations. Optimism has not disappeared, but it is now paired with a grounded mind-set. Floating wind must be treated as a distinct sector, not simply an extension of fixed-bottom wind and a majority of respondents think this way. The technology, timelines and investment requirements are different – and government and industry action needs to reflect that.”
