Floating Offshore Wind Power Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Global Floating Offshore Wind Power Market Trends and Insights

Growing Lease Awards in U.S. & APAC Deep-Water Zones

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s award of 4.6 GW of leases off California and Oregon in 2024 moved investment toward mooring systems able to withstand 1,200 m depths and seismic loads. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry followed with 1.8 GW of Round 2 zones that impose typhoon-resilient design and 40% local-content rules.^{[1]Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry, “Round 2 Offshore Wind Bid Results,” meti.go.jp} South Korea’s 8th power-supply plan sets a 6 GW floating target for 2030, steering capital to Ulsan and Jeju, where 150-m depths preclude monopiles. Taiwan’s 2026 allocation earmarks 3 GW for floating projects, incentivizing tension-leg pilots. Lease awards de-risk permitting, yet California’s interconnection queue stretches to 2029 because of congestion around Moss Landing and Diablo Canyon substations.

Rapid Turbine Upsizing to 15-20 MW Class Reducing LCOE

Serial production of Siemens Gamesa’s 15 MW SG 14-236 DD and Vestas’ V236-15 MW turbines began in 2025, each cutting foundation costs for 1 GW projects by nearly half and slicing balance-of-plant expenses by USD 180 million. GE Vernova’s 14 MW Haliade-X variant optimized for low-wind regimes enlarges viable lease zones in New York State. MingYang and Goldwind achieved 16 MW prototypes, validating two-piece blades, rail transport, and extended service intervals. Capex per installed megawatt is tracking from USD 4.2 million in 2024 toward USD 3.1 million by 2028.

Oil & Gas Platform Conversions Unlocking Gulf of Mexico Supply Chain

Shell’s Vito decommissioning plan repurposes a tension-leg structure for 200 MW of floating turbines 150 km south of Louisiana, leveraging existing export cables and crew quarters to trim greenfield costs by 35%. TotalEnergies and Aker Solutions are assessing 12 semi-submersible rigs for wind retrofits, activating dormant fabrication yards in Brownsville and Corpus Christi. The U.S. Department of Energy allocated USD 50 million to demonstrate mooring interoperability, aiming to charter idle pipelay barges and ease vessel constraints.

EU & UK CfD Reform Boosting Bankability

Allocation Round 6 in the United Kingdom introduced inflation-indexed strike prices of GBP 176/MWh, which lower debt-service coverage ratios and court pension funds. France’s CRE awarded 15-year CfDs at EUR 120/MWh for the Golfe du Lion array, offering local-content bonuses. Spain extended contract tenors to 25 years, balancing lower tariffs with longer cash flows. Italy adopted a two-way tariff that shields developers when merchant prices drop, while Equinor secured a 25-year corporate offtake for Hywind Tampen with Norsk Hydro.

WTIV & FIV Vessel Shortage Driving Day Rates Above USD 450k

Only 23 wind-turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) can handle 15 MW machines in 2025, yet 47 GW of projects need lifting through 2028. As utilization exceeds 95%, charter prices rose to USD 485,000 per day, postponing California’s Morro Bay array by two years and inflating a 500 MW project’s vessel bill to USD 87 million.^{[2]Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, “California Offshore Wind Leases: ESA Review,” boem.gov} Shipyards are building 14 new WTIVs for 2026-27 delivery, but supply relief before 2027 remains limited.

High-Voltage Dynamic Cable Failures in 50-100 m Depth Pilots

Scotland’s Kincardine farm suffered a six-month outage in 2024 after bending-radius violations damaged 66 kV cables during 12-m wave events. Revised IEC 61400-3-2 standards now mandate tighter fatigue margins, and insurers require redundancy plus strain monitoring. Prysmian’s helically armored cable, released in 2025, meets those criteria but costs EUR 2.8 million per km, adding USD 90 million to a 1 GW project.

Segment Analysis

By Water Depth: Deep Zones Redefine Lease Economics

Transitional depths of 30-60 m represented 54.1% of global installations in 2025, largely around the North Sea, where hybrid gravity anchors lower mooring costs. Deep-water sites beyond 60 m are on pace for a 58.2% CAGR, unlocking the vast technical potential off California, Japan, and Norway. The Floating Offshore Wind Power market size for the Deep segment is projected to reach 2,900 MW by 2031. California’s Morro Bay area highlights the economics: suction anchors rated for 1,000-m depths lift capital expense to USD 4.1 million per MW, yet access to 25 GW of wind resource offsets that premium. Japan’s Goto leases and South Korea’s Ulsan sites confirm similar depth-driven economics.

Shallow settings under 30 m captured only demonstration activity. Several European pilots used benign waters to test platform behavior before scaling to harsher seas. Meanwhile, Deep-water adoption relies on mooring innovation such as Vryhof’s STEVMANTA suction anchor, which reduces anchor count from four to three and slashes installation time by 25%.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Floating Platform Type: Semi-Submersibles Dominate, Spar-Buoys Rise

Semi-submersibles contributed 55.8% of 2025 capacity, thanks to modular fabrication and compatibility with 15-20 MW turbines. Principle Power’s WindFloat platform can be towed out from quays with only a 4 m draft and then ballasted in place.^{[3]Principle Power, “WindFloat Atlantic Performance Update 2025,” principlepower.com} Spar-buoys show the fastest ascent with a 55.3% CAGR as Asian yards employ high-volume steel roll-forming and demonstrate remarkable pitch stability in typhoon seas. The Floating Offshore Wind Power market share of Spar-buoys is therefore set to expand sharply through 2031.

Tension-leg platforms hold a niche 12% share, appearing where firm seabed clay enables vertical tethers that minimize heave. Hybrid barge ideas like BW Ideol’s Damping Pool or Hexicon’s TwinWind duet aim to trim anchor costs by sharing moorings but remain at pilot scale.

By Turbine Capacity: Gigawatt-Class Machines Reshape Economics

Turbines rated 5-10 MW still formed 52.9% of 2025 deployments, yet serial production of 15-16 MW units is tilting the economics decisively. The Floating Offshore Wind Power market size for machines above 15 MW is expected to expand at a 56.1% CAGR, aided by Siemens Gamesa’s SG 14-236 DD and Vestas’ V236-15.0 MW products. A 1 GW farm now needs 63 turbines instead of 125, cutting cable runs by 40%. Goldwind’s direct-drive 16 MW rotor reduces gearbox maintenance and extends service intervals to 18 months.

Smaller turbines remain configured for older pilots and typhoon-constrained regions. Doosan’s 8 MW platform continues to serve South Korean demos, yet its announced 12 MW variant shows the convergence toward global sizing norms.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Application Stage: Pilots Yield to Utility-Scale Arrays

Pilots occupied 65.3% of installed capacity in 2025, virtually all funded by demonstration grants or transitional tariffs. Utility-scale arrays now line up financing as CfD reforms lower the weighted average cost of capital to 6.2% and insurers offer premiums of 1.8% of the installed cost. The Floating Offshore Wind Power market size for utility-scale projects is projected to overtake pilot capacity in 2028.

Hybrid wind-to-hydrogen projects already account for 8% of deployments. Germany’s AquaVentus and Japan’s Fukushima Forward pilots confirm that pairing wind with electrolyzers boosts equity returns by 150 bps, although electrolyzer capex of USD 800/kW still weighs on scalability.

Geography Analysis

Europe maintained 53.6% of installations in 2025, supported by the United Kingdom’s ScotWind leases, France’s Golfe du Lion tender, and Norway’s oil-platform decarbonization schemes. The Floating Offshore Wind Power market size in Europe is expected to pass 2,000 MW by 2031. United Kingdom policy mandates 25% local content, prompting port upgrades at Aberdeen and Inverness and sustaining semi-submersible fabrication.^{[4]Crown Estate Scotland, “ScotWind Leasing Round Outcomes,” crownestatescotland.com} France’s 15-year CfDs at EUR 120/MWh and Mediterranean barge deployments provide predictable revenue and regional yard work. Spain, Italy, and Nordic nations follow with smaller yet fast-moving allocations that embed aquaculture or desalination co-use.

Asia-Pacific shows the strongest growth trajectory with a 53.3% CAGR. China’s Guangdong and Fujian provinces target 5 GW under the 14th Five-Year Plan, deploying MingYang and Goldwind 16 MW turbines. Japan’s 1.8 GW Round 2 leases include mandatory green-ammonia synthesis, while South Korea’s Ulsan Hydrogen City connects 500 MW of wind to 200 MW of PEM electrolyzers. Taiwan’s 2026 round reserves 3 GW for floating projects with 60% local content to develop domestic cable and mooring suppliers.

North America secured 4.6 GW of leases off California and Oregon, but ESA consultations for the North Pacific right whale extend permitting by 18 months. Developers now fund passive-acoustic monitoring and seasonal work restrictions, pushing the first power to 2030. Meanwhile, Gulf of Mexico platform conversions tap idle rigs and established subsea infrastructure to curb capex by 35%. South America and the Middle East & Africa remain nascent. Petrobras studies a 150 MW conversion off Rio de Janeiro, and the United Arab Emirates assesses 200 MW near Abu Dhabi for green-hydrogen export.