Floating Wind Turbine Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Floating Wind Turbine Market is projected to expand significantly, growing from USD 3.87 Billion in 2025 to USD 32.97 Billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate of 42.91%. These systems involve wind generators mounted on buoyant substructures anchored to the seabed, allowing for deployment in waters too deep for fixed-bottom foundations. The primary driver for this market is the necessity to access high-yield wind resources located in deeper waters, which offer more consistent power generation than nearshore sites. Additionally, the scarcity of available shallow-water zones and strict national decarbonization mandates are accelerating the shift toward deep-water renewable energy exploitation.

However, the industry faces substantial hurdles due to immature supply chains and the high capital costs associated with commercialization. A lack of specialized port infrastructure capable of assembling and transporting these massive floating structures limits rapid scalability and deployment speed. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, only 278 MW of net floating wind capacity had been installed globally by the end of 2024, highlighting the early stage of this industry's development compared to established fixed-bottom technologies.

Market Drivers

Favorable government policies and decarbonization mandates are the primary catalysts for the Global Floating Wind Turbine Market. To achieve ambitious net-zero targets, nations are establishing robust regulatory frameworks and financial mechanisms to reduce risks for early-stage commercial projects. These measures often include specific auction pots or ring-fenced budgets intended to bridge the cost gap between emerging technologies and commercial viability, encouraging developers to utilize deep-water resources. For example, as reported by OffshoreWIND.biz in July 2024, the UK government allocated GBP 270 million specifically for emerging technologies like floating offshore wind, incentivizing developers to secure leases in areas unsuitable for fixed foundations.

Simultaneously, the declining Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) is pushing the market from pilot phases toward full-scale industrialization. Advances in platform architecture and economies of scale are reducing capital expenditures, making floating wind increasingly competitive with mature renewable sources. This trend was evident in recent European tenders, such as the Pennavel project in France, where a winning consortium secured a record-low tariff of EUR 86.45 per MWh in May 2024, signaling progress toward grid parity. This improved economic outlook is driving long-term interest, with RenewableUK reporting a 9% expansion in the global floating offshore wind project pipeline to 266 GW in 2024.

Market Challenges

The growth of the Global Floating Wind Turbine Market is severely restricted by a heavy reliance on immature supply chains and a shortage of specialized port infrastructure. Unlike fixed-bottom installations, floating turbines require deep-water ports with reinforced quays to handle the heavy assembly of buoyant substructures. The global scarcity of such facilities creates bottlenecks, preventing the simultaneous assembly and transport of large-scale components. Consequently, developers are forced to use distant ports, which increases transit times and operational expenses, inflating overall project costs and discouraging investment in commercial-scale developments.

This infrastructure gap imposes a massive capital requirement that the industry is currently struggling to meet. The financial burden of upgrading ports to accommodate these giant floating units stands as a major barrier to expansion, creating a disparity between installation targets and execution capabilities. According to WindEurope, an additional €6.4 billion investment in port facilities and vessels is needed in 2025 to meet offshore energy goals. Without this capital to modernize the supply chain, the sector faces prolonged delays in converting its planned project pipeline into operational capacity.

Market Trends

The shift toward 15MW+ high-capacity turbines is fundamentally changing unit economics by maximizing energy output per foundation. Developers are moving toward massive, commercial-scale generators to spread the high costs of buoyant substructures over a larger power yield, requiring robust platforms that can support heavier nacelles in deep waters. This trend was illustrated in December 2024 when MingYang Smart Energy commissioned the OceanX platform in China, a floating unit designed to withstand typhoon conditions with a total generation capacity of 16.6 MW, as reported by OffshoreWIND.biz.

concurrently, the electrification of offshore oil and gas platforms is emerging as a distinct market segment aimed at decarbonizing extraction assets. Unlike utility-scale wind farms, these projects typically use dedicated microgrids to replace gas-fired power on rigs, addressing Scope 1 emissions and bypassing certain grid congestion issues. This trajectory was reinforced in April 2024, according to Crown Estate Scotland, with the signing of an option agreement for the Green Volt project, which aims to deploy 560 MW of floating wind capacity specifically to decarbonize North Sea installations.

Key Players Profiled in the Floating Wind Turbine Market

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A.
• MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S
• ABB Group
• General Electric Company
• Nordex SE
• Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
• Envision Energy Ltd.
• Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Co., Ltd.
• Hitachi Group
• Suzlon Energy Ltd.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Floating Wind Turbine Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Floating Wind Turbine Market, by Foundation:

• Spar-buoy Foundation
• Tension-leg platform (TLP) Foundation
• Semi-submersible Foundation
• Others

Floating Wind Turbine Market, by Capacity:

• Up to 1 MW
• 1-3 MW
• 3-5 MW
• Above 5MW

Floating Wind Turbine Market, by Depth:

• Shallow Water
• Deep Water

Floating Wind Turbine Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Floating Wind Turbine Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

This product will be delivered within 1-3 business days.