FOREWORD
The Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOW CoE) has been at the heart of the floating wind sector for over six years. It provides evidence and research that continues to guide developers, supply chain and government on the engineering, cost and environmental realities of floating wind deployment. It has been a truly collaborative endeavour with initial funding from Scottish Government catalysing support from floating wind developers. Support from UK Government and Crown Estate Scotland has been crucial to maintain momentum and recent membership of The Crown Estate adds further strength to the organisation.
I am delighted to introduce this Impact Report and to reflect on the journey of floating offshore wind. Since the FOW CoE was established in 2019, the sector has moved from proving that floating wind can work, to the more demanding task of proving that it can be delivered repeatedly, competitively, and at scale. The work summarised here sits firmly in that transition: turning early experience into evidence and providing foresight that can be used by the wider sector.
The common thread across the programme is independent engineering evidence. Developers need clearer baselines for design choices, O&M and consenting pathways. Supply chain organisations need confidence in what will be built so they can invest in capability, capacity and people. Government and regulators need robust, independent insight to shape policy.
The FOW CoE’s approach has been deliberately practical – convening industry and stakeholders around shared problems—cost reduction, dynamic cables, moorings and anchors, and environmental interactions. We have helped build a consistent evidence base that can be used across projects to reduce duplication and enable faster learning. Over time, these incremental gains will reduce costs and increase confidence.
This report also highlights something equally important: progress in floating wind requires a whole systems approach. It depends on alignment between technology developers, project developers, ports and vessels, insurers, banks, and public policy.
I would like to thank the Floating Wind Team at Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and the many specialist delivery partners who have contributed to the quality of the research. I would also like to thank the members for their willingness to put competition aside and collaborate on the core research required to make floating wind a success.
Andrew Macdonald | Co-Chair, FOWCoE
