The Global Floating Offshore Wind Industry Is Off To The Races

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US President Donald Trump has put his best foot forward in an effort to stop the domestic wind and solar industries, but signs of failure already abound. One hint of things to come is a fresh burst of activity in the global floating offshore wind field. After all, it’s a big world out there. New clean technology from around the globe will find its way into the US sooner or later, and Trump is scheduled to leave office — peacefully one hopes, this time — just a few years from now, on January 20, 2029.

The Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Difference

Before we get to the latest news about the floating offshore wind industry, let’s address the 800-pound bull in the energy policy china shop. To make any sense of this year’s abrupt U-turn in federal energy policy, consider the source, particularly in light of recent circumstances. Earlier this week, for example, the President declined to rule out a pardon for the convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, in the midst of a fresh wave of speculation about the state of the 79-year-old Commander-in-Chief’s cognitive decline.

Seriously, who in their right mind would use the powers of the federal government to choke off two fast-growing, job-creating energy industries that can leverage abundant, accessible domestic resources to meet the skyrocketing demand for electricity while helping to clear the air of dangerous pollutants from fuel-burning power plants, helping to reduce health care costs for — oh, never mind. Just asking.

If you have any thoughts about that, drop a note in the comment thread. Meanwhile, activity in the global floating offshore wind area is picking up, and that’s significant because floating platforms can open up wide new swaths of territory for offshore wind development here in the US.

Conventional wind turbines sit on tall monopiles sunk into the seabed, which limits their reach to relatively shallow waters. In contrast, floating turbines are tethered to the seabed with cables, allowing for placement in deeper waters where wind patterns tend to be stronger and more consistent.

Floating platforms also lend themselves to a wider range of turbine configurations. Among the emerging innovations are low-profile turbines that avoid the view spoilage issues raised by coastal communities.

Before Trump took office earlier this year, the US was taking advantage of opportunities for conventional, monopile offshore wind development along the energy-thirsty Atlantic coast. Floating offshore wind technology will add even more clean kilowatts to the pile, by opening up the Pacific Coast and the Gulf of Maine, too (see more floating wind background here).

Here Comes Samsung Heavy Industries

Oh, well. January 20, 2029 can’t come a moment too soon. In the meantime, the global floating offshore wind field keeps expanding. In the latest news, the A-list engineering firm Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has won the all-important Approval in Principle seal of approval from Lloyd’s Register, for its new SnapWind Float turbine foundation.

“Announced this week at Gastech 2025 in Milan, SnapWind Float has been developed to deliver floating wind solutions that can unlock deeper water sites and higher-capacity renewable energy sites worldwide,” Lloyd’s Register explained in a press statement on September 12.

“In addition, the SnapWind Float design is optimised for the development of floating offshore wind farms in regions where skilled workforce, heavy lifting equipment and sufficient workspace are limited,” Lloyd’s continued.

Adding to the AiP pile is KR (Korean Register), which is particularly enthusiastic about the potential for SnapWind Float to lift the global offshore wind industry to a new level. “Floating offshore wind at the 15MW level represents a new frontier for the industry. By granting this AiP, KR is helping accelerate the deployment of innovative substructures that will underpin the next wave of global offshore wind projects,” KR explains.

The global certification group Bureau Veritas also conferred an AiP on the SnapWind Float during Gastech 2025. Taking note of Samsung’s extensive experience in offshore development, Bureau Veritas attributed the certificate to SnapWind’s “cost-competitive floating substructure optimized for next-generation 15MW offshore wind turbines” along with its “lightweight, unmanned semi-submersible structure with a passive ballast system and optimized mooring lines.”

And, Here Comes France’s First Floating Offshore Wind Farm

Bureau Veritas also played a featured role in the development and commissioning of the first offshore floating wind farm in France, the new Provence Grand Large array. Located off the coast of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, the new wind farm weighs in at the relatively modest capacity of 25 megawatts churned out by three 8-megawatt+ turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. However, the new array is expected to provide the equivalent electricity for an estimated 45,000 households, which is no small potatoes.

More to the point, the new wind farm was designed as a pilot project leading to larger arrays in the future, potentially including many other markets around the world where the developers already have a footprint. The new wind farm is a global effort partnering the EDF Renewables branch of EDF Group, the Enbridge Éolien France 2 S.a.r.l branch of Enbridge, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

As a pilot project, the new wind farm also demonstrates a first-of-its-kind variation on the “tension leg” platform stabilizing system favored by the offshore oil industry. “Developed by SBM Offshore and IFP Energies Nouvelles, this technology is suitable for deep-water areas and provides great stability for the platform. Its adaptation for floating offshore wind turbines is a world first,” EDF notes.

“The dynamic cables, built by Prysmian, which follow and adapt to the movements of the platforms, transport the electricity produced by the Provence Grand Large wind turbines,” the company adds.

Meanwhile, Back Here In The US

Wow, just look at all that manufacturing activity the US is missing out on. Woe is us. Looking on the bright side, though, it’s worth a mention that plans for the Provence Grand Large wind farm first surfaced all the way back in 2011, when offshore wind turbine technology and floating platform design were still at the early phases of development. Much water has passed under the bridge since then.

After 2029, offshore wind developers in the US can look forward to a shiny new technology environment, including a drop in the cost of floating platforms as well as improvements in turbine efficiency, along with mature supply chains, confident investors, and skilled workers to back it all up.

In the mean time, floating wind fans here in the US can live vicariously through the firm Principle Power. The startup set the global floating offshore industry wheels in motion right here in the US during the Obama administration, with a generous assist from the taxpaying public. Since then, Principle has received a friendly reception for pilot projects in Portugal and Scotland. Last year the company also signed an MoU with the Korean shipyard HSG Sungdong with the aim of mass producing its WindFloat technologies, so stay tuned for more news from the company.

Image (cropped): The floating offshore wind industry is gathering steam with the support of Samsung Heavy Industries and other leading global firms (SnapWind Float offshore turbines courtesy of SHI via email).