Stiesdal Offshore Exec: 500MW Floating Wind Threshold Could Slash Costs to €1M per MW

Michael Hannibal of Stiesdal Offshore says scaling floating wind to at least 500MW per project is essential to reach €1 million per megawatt, a milestone he calls a 'high five'.

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Scaling up floating wind projects to at least 500 megawatts is a critical goal for Michael Hannibal, who serves as sales director of Stiesdal Offshore, chairman of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), and a partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). He describes this threshold as a "high five" that could unlock floating wind costs of €1 million per megawatt, making the technology more competitive with fixed-bottom offshore wind.

The 500MW benchmark is seen as necessary to drive down expenses through economies of scale and supply chain efficiencies. Hannibal's remarks highlight the industry's focus on larger project sizes to reduce levelized cost of energy for floating wind, which currently remains higher than traditional offshore wind due to complex mooring and substructure requirements.