London, England – 7^th March 2023 – The emerging floating offshore wind industry needs to proactively address potential hazards to prepare for future large-scale deployment, according to a new report released by the G+ health and safety organization.

Supported by ERM’s The Renewables Consulting Group, Tadek, and European Marine Energy Centre, the G+ Floating Offshore Wind Hazard Identification (HAZID) report identifies specific risks associated with a typical commercial-scale floating wind farm and recommends best safety practices and tools for its members and the broader offshore wind industry.

To evaluate critical areas and potential bottlenecks for a commercial-scale floating wind farm, the study assumed a wind farm of circa 50 semi-submersible platforms with 15 MW wind turbine generators (WTG). In collaboration with the industry, risk items were identified for the three periods of operations during a typical floating offshore wind project lifecycle.

Notably, the study highlighted key gaps in current industry guidance for constructing and operating floating offshore wind projects. These include the risk of the novel technology being deployed in markets with no offshore experience and regulatory frameworks.

The report’s authors caution that the relatively small-scale FOW deployment to date has meant that, where there are FOW specific requirements, they mostly focus on design considerations (such as structural requirements) rather than occupational Health and Safety (H&S). Therefore, a significant opportunity exists to proactively develop guidelines covering occupational H&S as early as possible in the design phase.

Dan Kyle Spearman, Director and Global Lead on Floating Offshore Wind at The Renewables Consulting Group said:

“By combining health and safety data, insights from existing projects and our in-depth understanding of health and safety in the global wind industry, we have been able to consider the risks and challenges associated with the deployment of floating offshore wind projects. As floating wind projects ramp up globally, the industry needs to proactively tackle the health and safety challenges to prepare effectively for future large-scale deployment.” – Dan Kyle Spearman, Director

ERM provides a full lifecycle of technical services for floating offshore wind projects, from early-stage development through to project execution. ERM supports clients globally in de-risking and enabling development opportunities through its strong understanding of the unique technical and commercial challenges of floating offshore wind.

The full report can be found here.

photo de l’éolienne offshore en Loire-Atlantique au large du Croisic.

Floatgen, BW Ideol’s floating wind turbine, is located in France,

Photo courtesy of BW Ideol and V. Joncheray

About The Renewables Consulting Group

RCG, an ERM Group company, is a specialized expert services firm supporting the global renewable energy sector. From strategy to implementation, the company serves businesses, governments, and non-profits around the world with technical and management consulting services for both mainstream and emerging renewable energy technologies. RCG works with the public sector, private equity and financial services firms, utilities and project developers, equipment manufacturers, and engineering and construction companies for on- and off-shore wind, solar, and emerging technologies including wave and tidal and energy-storage projects. RCG is headquartered in London, and has offices in New York, Tokyo and elsewhere. For more information, visit our website at www.thinkrcg.com or connect with us on Twitter via @thinkrcg

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