Drivers for and barriers to the take up of floating offshore wind technology: A comparison of Scotland and South Africa

Abstract

Offshore wind could both play a significant role in decarbonising the global energy system and supporting the energy needs of cities. Recent trends in offshore wind have seen the installation of turbines in deeper and more remote waters due to the presence of stronger and more consistent wind resources. This has led to the development of floating foundations for turbine mounting in water depths above 40 m, where conventional bottom-fixed foundations are not considered economically feasible. However, due to its emerging nature, floating wind must attain market maturity to be considered cost competitive. It is a widely accepted belief that market expansion yields technological maturity. Therefore, this paper adopts a systems approach to investigate the viability of floating offshore wind power generation in Scotland and South Africa. It does this through a content analysis of relevant secondary documentation, including policy documents, industry reports, press releases, online publications, and databases to determine the drivers and barriers of floating wind in the case contexts. The key findings are that substantial technical potential is required to attract floating wind investments, political support is necessary in order to scale up, a strong offshore wind supply chain could cushion the high-cost effects of floating wind projects, and more innovative business models such as corporate Power Purchasing Agreements could serve as social drivers for such projects. The main contextual conclusions drawn from this paper are that Scotland's inaugural floating wind projects benefitted from the Scottish government's Renewable Obligation scheme, however its discontinuation threatens the prospects of future projects. Alternatively, South Africa's technical potential, coupled with its government's healthy appetite for renewable energy development, could see the take up of this technology in the near future, with corresponding benefits for more sustainable energy in densely populated areas, compliant with SDG 7.