While leasing activity in the UK’s floating wind sector continues to accelerate, risks to the sector’s viability continue to weigh on the short-term outlook of the sector with the 2030 5GW target currently out of reach.
Recent developments present upsides to the floating offshore wind sector
Floating offshore wind mounts turbines on platforms moored to the seabed rather than fixed into it, which opens up water deeper than roughly 60 metres. A report published by advisory firm Heligan Group estimates floating wind could supply a third of UK offshore wind capacity by 2050 with the deployment of industrial-scale infrastructure.
Two floating demonstration projects awarded Celtic Sea leases by The Crown Estate
On 3 August 2026, Cierco Energy, an independent offshore project developer, signed a lease agreement with The Crown Estate for two 100MW floating wind demonstration projects 30km off the coast of Pembrokeshire. A lease agreement grants seabed rights ahead of a full lease, conditional on the developer securing its planning consents.
The Crown Estate owns the seabed out to 12 nautical miles around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and holds offshore renewable energy rights out to 200 nautical miles under the Energy Act 2004. They identify sites for offshore projects and offer leases to help the UK reach its offshore wind targets.
The Crown Estate completes Round 5 with a third lease
Round 5 of The Crown Estate’s offshore wind leasing made three distinct Project Development Areas available in the Celtic Sea, each of up to 1.5GW, for a combined capacity of up to 4.5GW. Ocean Winds, a 50:50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE, signed the third Agreement for Lease on 3 March 2026, completing the round. All 4.5GW is now under agreement.
Nadara files for consent on the 1.8GW Bellrock project
Nadara submitted planning and marine licence applications for Bellrock, a 1.8GW floating project 120km east of Stonehaven, on 21 April 2026. The EIC expects the start-up year to be 2032. The project is one of the largest floating wind developments and if its application is accepted, would significantly raise the UK’s positioning in the floating offshore wind market. According to the EIC, Nadara has four floating offshore wind projects in planning worth a total of roughly 1.3bn.
Viability issues continue to weigh on the short-term outlook
Hexicon loses the UK’s first floating wind CfD
Hexion’s TwinHub project off the Cornwall coastline won the first Contract for Difference (CfD) ever awarded to floating wind, bidding a 15-year strike price of £87.30/MWh in 2022. A CfD guarantees a generator a fixed price for its output and is a core driver behind the UK’s offshore wind success.
The contract was terminated in April 2026 after the project’s economics deteriorated. In a loss for the sector, the company is now looking to divest TwinHub. Given this, only three floating projects now hold CfDs: Erebus (100MW), Pentland (92.5MW) and Green Volt (400MW).
Ocean Winds hands back a 500MW Scottish lease
Ocean Winds is terminating its ScotWind lease option for the 500MW Arven South project off the Shetlands. Ocean Winds cites the issue is a lack of viable grid connection or alternative route to market. The company still plans to develop the remaining 1,800MW Arven site incrementally via a Shetland 2 HVDC link.
UK Unlikely To Reach 2030 Goal
This year’s leasing deals and projects moving through planning are positive, but the projects remain at early stages, often pre-final investment decision (FID) and without contracts awarded.
The UK government has set a target of reaching 5GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2030. Operational capacity is currently 80MW, from two projects: Kincardine and Hywind Scotland, both off Scotland.
Allocation Round 7 results in January 2026 show the direction of travel. Out of the eligible 458.4MW floating capacity, only 192.5MW has been won, clearing at £216.49/MWh. Allocation Round 6 had awarded 560MW to a single project, indicating the slow progress being made in floating wind.
EIC DataStream lists seven projects in the pipeline with estimated commissioning dates by 2030, totalling 2.8GW. Two account for most of that volume, each above 1GW, and both remain in planning. Beech wind farm in the North Sea is still in the feasibility stage, which raises the risk of it being delivered, let alone by 2030. The second, namely Aspen, awaits planning consent to begin construction, with FID expected in September 2026. This implies that there are significant risks to the UK’s near-term floating wind capacity delivery.
The distance between a signed lease and a delivered project is where specialist capability sits. As developers push projects through consent, grid connection and financial close, so does demand for consents and development managers, grid and offtake commercial leads, as well as many other offshore wind specialists.
At Mint Selection, we support this evolving market across renewable developers, independent power producers and infrastructure funds, connecting organisations with the talent to turn seabed rights into delivered projects. If you are looking a developing and delivering floating offshore wind projects, contact us at hello@mintselection.com to discuss your resourcing requirements.