Engie has said floating wind farms are ready for gigawatt-scale deployment, while Germany's EnBW has raised doubts over the costs compared to fixed-base wind turbines. Engie, which already owns a quarter of the WindFloat Atlantic floating project, said scale was a prerequisite to cutting costs. The European Commission is also looking at whether offshore windfarm operators should be required to pay royalties on their electricity sales and how much they would have to contribute towards decommissioning costs, according to an EU document Despite its cost concerns, EnBW agreed floating would be a good prospect even with a small premium.
Engie has said floating wind farms are ready for gigawatt-scale deployment, while Germany's EnBW has raised doubts over the costs compared to fixed-base wind turbines. Engie, which already owns a quarter of the WindFloat Atlantic floating project, said scale was a prerequisite to cutting costs. France has pledged to triple the size of its three planned 250 MW tenders if a case can be made for floating turbines, while several gigawatt-scale schemes have been announced in Asia. Despite its cost concerns, EnBW agreed floating would be a good prospect even with a small premium.