Irish Floating Wind Developer Setting Up Operations in US

Irish floating offshore wind developer Simply Blue Group is looking to develop floating wind projects in the US and has now assembled a leadership team for its operations in the country.

With the US recently announcing its offshore wind target of 30 GW by 2030 and experts saying the country has the potential to develop 30 GW of floating wind in the next 20 years, the Irish company – which has several projects in planning and development in the UK and Ireland – is now expanding its operations to the US.

Simply Blue cited Walt Musial from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), who said that over the next 20 years, the floating wind market would equal that of fixed-bottom offshore wind assessments, and that some 60 per cent of viable offshore wind resources in the US could only be tapped with floating wind.

“Floating is the future and next frontier for U.S. offshore wind power”, said Kevin Banister, Chief Development Officer & President, Simply Blue USA. “As Simply Blue assesses floating offshore wind markets around the globe, no opportunity ranks higher than the U.S.”

The company has 3.2 GW of floating wind projects in development and a pipeline of over 9 GW, primarily in the waters off Ireland and the UK. 

At the beginning of this month, Simply Blue announced that its 200 MW Salamander floating wind project in Scotland, developed in partnership with Subsea 7, could also incorporate hydrogen production technology.

In Ireland, the company has initiated the development of a project which will feature a hybrid floating offshore wind farm and wave energy conversion array.

For the US, Simply Blue highlighted the West Coast for floating wind development, but also the deeper waters off the Gulf Coast and East Coast.

“While early attention has focused on fixed platforms in shallow East Coast waters, deeper waters off California, Oregon, Hawaii, Gulf Coast, Great Lakes and also East Coast hold as much or more potential for development – as much as 30 GW by 2040 – utilizing floating wind technology already deployed in other world markets”, the company said.