Scotland’s offshore wind foundations are evolving

Fixed-bottom offshore wind is a well‑understood sector with an established supply chain. These projects can currently be built more quickly and at a lower cost than floating developments.

Monopile foundations remain the most common, with steel tubes driven as deep as 40 metres into the seabed in water depths up to 60 metres. At greater depths, jacket or tripod structures are used, whereas gravity‑based concrete foundations suit shallower waters.

As turbines grow larger and heavier, greater loads are applied to the seabed, increasing the need for structural materials and limiting sites to those with suitable seabed conditions.

Floating wind expands the geographical possibilities for offshore wind farms. Many systems rely on anchoring and mooring technologies that have already been proven in other offshore industries.

Yet with more than 100 floating foundation concepts in development, the industry must focus on fewer designs to enable it to scale. Current concepts include barge platforms, semi‑submersibles, spar buoys and tension leg platforms (TLPs).

Floating wind expansion in Scotland

Floating wind production is advancing rapidly, with around 220 projects in development globally.

Scotland already hosts two operational floating wind farms in Hywind Scotland and Kincardine. There are several more approaching construction, including Pentland, Salamander and the INTOG‑linked Green Volt project. 

Data from Crown Estate Scotland confirms that ScotWind and INTOG together include more than 24 gigawatts of floating wind capacity, reinforcing Scotland’s leadership in this emerging industry. 

However, floating wind remains costlier than fixed‑bottom projects due to its relative immaturity.

Andrew Macdonald of ORE Catapult points to other industries where standardisation helped reduce costs and strengthen supply chains:

He adds: “If you look at automotive or aerospace, their supply chains are standardised to reduce costs. Whether it's tyres, wheels, or brake units, there's a supply chain that will provide those, and the offshore wind sector must follow suit.”

To support cost reduction, ORE Catapult’s Floating Wind Innovation Centre (FLOWIC) in Aberdeen is developing a detailed cost‑reduction model. This approach mirrors previous frameworks that helped cut fixed‑bottom wind costs dramatically over the past decade. Andrew Macdonald stresses that accelerated early deployment will be essential to trigger industrial‑scale cost reductions.

Addressing production challenges 

Production scale is one of the industry’s toughest challenges. Turbines and floating platforms are enormous, and require manufacturing output at an unprecedented rate.

Remi Zante, Head of Strategic Planning at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), compares the scale of manufacturing to building a ship every week. Although turbine fabrication is less complex, it still demands extensive facilities and highly coordinated production processes.

Zante emphasises that Scotland must develop flexible industrial capacity backed by risk‑based planning approaches. Automation will be key, with early examples already demonstrated in Norway.

Scotland is developing global solutions

Automation also offers solutions to workforce shortages while creating high‑value technical roles. However, implementing automation at scale will require substantial investment and a departure from historic fabrication approaches.

Despite the challenges, Scotland is well positioned to lead globally. The ScotWind leasing round is funding 20 projects with a combined potential capacity of nearly 30 gigwatts, according to the Scottish Trades Union Congress. Meanwhile, the INTOG leasing round has selected 5.5GW of floating wind projects, according to independent industry reporting.

Remi Zante adds: “The building blocks are already in place, including innovation networks across the regions. And there’s a much wider network underpinning all of this. Scotland can take a lead UK‑wide and internationally, but it remains a global endeavour.”

These developments, supported by organisations such as ORE Catapult, FLOWIC and NMIS, strengthen Scotland’s growing offshore wind ecosystem. Decades of North Sea engineering experience, a skilled workforce and supportive legislation further underpin the opportunity. 

Floating wind’s success will require international collaboration. Scotland’s engineering expertise is already building global interest, continuing the country’s historic offshore success.

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