Floating offshore wind could be "this century’s biggest British industrial success" if the government supports the industry, according to a new report.
The report, produced by a joint government-industry taskforce, states that the UK’s floating wind industry could contribute £47 billion to the economy and employ 97,000 people by 2050.
Floating offshore energy is potentially cheaper than onshore and fixed-based offshore wind as floating farms can be located further out to sea where wind speeds are higher.
Compared to around 15 gigawatts of offshore energy today, of which there are 80 megawatts from two floating wind farms in operation, floating turbines could add 40 GW of power by that point. This would be enough to power every home in the country, including charging electric cars and powering electric heating such as heat pumps, the report said.
Costs are likely to come down too, with the price to build floating wind projects expected to drop by almost a third by the end of the current decade to under £100 per megawatt hour.
The taskforce noted that there are agreed seabed leases for up to 24GW of further floating wind capacity, giving the UK one of the largest floating project pipelines in the world.
But the report called for more port infrastructure to manufacture and assemble floating turbines, as well as investment in high-value parts of the floating wind supply chain, such as steel and concrete platforms, cables, moorings and anchors.
"Floating wind is set to become one of the biggest global industries of the twenty-first century, and the UK now has an unprecedented opportunity to seize the lead by scaling up this innovative technology," said Dan McGrail, co-chair of the Floating Offshore Wind Taskforce and chief executive of the RenewableUK’s trade body.
"But we have to act fast, with industry and government working closely together to transform ports around the country into centres of excellence where we can manufacture high-value components for floating turbines, especially in areas like the north east of Scotland and south Wales which need new industrial opportunities as we transition from fossil fuels to clean power."
Energy secretary Ed Miliband highlighted the partnership between the newly created, publicly owned, clean-energy company, Great British Energy, and the Crown Estate, which he said will help Britain become a "clean energy superpower", with the country's advances in this subsector providing a "unique opportunity to win the global race for floating offshore wind".
The devolved Scottish government is investing up to £500 million over five years to "anchor" its offshore wind supply chain.