Floating offshore wind risks remaining stuck in a pre-commercial phase without stronger and more coordinated policy support, according to a new whitepaper from the Global Offshore Wind Alliance and Carbon Trust.
The report said the technology has progressed beyond the demonstration stage but is still far from the commercial scale required to meet global energy and climate objectives.
More than 278 MW of floating offshore wind capacity is currently operational worldwide across over 15 projects, the authors said, while national targets collectively exceed 40 GW.
The study highlighted that roughly 70% of global offshore wind resources are located in deeper waters suited to floating technology, reinforcing the strategic importance of accelerating deployment.
Even under a high-growth scenario, the sector would reach only about 260 GW by 2050 — below the levels needed to align with global climate pathways, the report found.
The paper identified four key levers to unlock commercialisation: economies of scale, supportive policy frameworks, learning-by-doing and targeted research and development. It stressed that policy action is the most urgent priority, calling for clear capacity targets, predictable auction schedules and revenue mechanisms tailored specifically to floating wind.
“Floating offshore wind is no longer a question of technical feasibility,” said Amisha Patel, head of secretariat at the Global Offshore Wind Alliance.
“However, deployment remains limited and uneven.”
Patel said project pipelines remain relatively small, costs are still elevated and supply chains have yet to reach the scale needed for sustained expansion.
“This is a natural stage in the evolution of an emerging technology,” she said. “But without clearer long-term policy signals and stronger coordination across governments and industry, progress to commercial scale will remain gradual.”
Mary Harvey, offshore wind manager at the Carbon Trust, said the sector faces a “stalemate,” adding that clearer policies, coordinated partnerships and credible investment signals are required to unlock large-scale deployment.
