New CEO Mads Nipper said Orsted is set to “look seriously” at floating wind opportunities in areas such as Scotland and California as the global leader in fixed-foundation turbines seeks to exploit the “great potential” of floating technology.

Orsted, which has led the charge to deploy fixed-bottom offshore wind over the last decade and will have 15GW operating by 2025, has been more cautious than its peers in announcing plans for the floating sector, which some analysts believe will eventually outstrip foundations as the biggest source of energy from wind at sea.

Nipper, who at the start of the year took over from long-serving Orsted CEO Henrik Pouslen, said while there are plenty of opportunities left for fixed-foundation projects, “we are sure for the future expansion there is a great potential in floating technologies, and in geographies like Scotland and California this is surely something that we will be looking seriously at”.

“It’s going to be important,” Nipper added, responding to a question from Recharge as he spoke to media for one of the first times since he started his new job as Orsted unveiled its 2020 results.

Orsted confirmed in January that it will enter the ScotWind process that is Scotland’s first dedicated offshore wind leasing round, and includes possibilities in both fixed-bottom and floating, but the developer has not specified any details about its participation.

The Danish group is part of an industrial consortium that in 2019 called on California to aim for a 10GW floating deployment by 2040.

Orsted has previously said it remains cautious over floating given its far higher costs than fixed-foundation, with a significant move unlikely until the market achieves scale.

Floating wind markets are on the verge of explosive growth globally, with recent analysis from UK-based low carbon advisory body the Carbon Trust calculating over 70GW of floating wind could be turning by 2040 – a near-1,000-fold expansion of the current global fleet – as international supply chains take shape to support development of commercial-scale projects around the world.

Oil & gas players

The early pacesetter in the floating sector, Equinor, has been joined by fellow oil & gas player Total, and power sector giants Engie and EDPR via their Ocean Winds joint venture, in announcing big plans for floating. Engie has previously said it wants to be the “Orsted of floating wind”, while fellow fixed-bottom pioneer Iberdrola in 2020 also swung firmly behind floating.

Nipper welcomed the arrival of oil giants such as Equinor, BP and Total, which have planted their flags in the whole offshore wind sector with increasingly ambitious targets, and are competing with Orsted and others in auctions globally.

“We’re keenly aware that competition will increase, but in many ways that’s a good thing” [for the sector overall],” said Nipper, pointing out that there was also the potential for partnerships such as the one Orsted has already forged with BP itself in hydrogen.

Wind

New Orsted chief says Dane ready to 'look seriously' at floating wind