Floating Wind Grows Up, One Cable at a Time

Hybrid grid connections are helping Europe’s floating wind projects cut risk, unlock finance, and move from pilots to large-scale power

23 Jan 2026

Floating offshore wind is quietly crossing a line. What was once an experimental corner of clean energy is now edging into the commercial mainstream, helped by a shift in how power from deep-water turbines makes it back to shore.

The change is visible across Europe, where new project awards and investment commitments are stacking up. In Scotland, the Pentland floating wind project recently secured long-term revenue support under the UK’s Contracts for Difference scheme. For developers and investors, that approval carried weight. It signaled that floating wind is no longer a technical curiosity but infrastructure with a defined place in future power systems.

At the heart of this transition is the grid. Floating turbines sit farther offshore than fixed-bottom wind farms and move constantly with wind and waves. Export cables must absorb that motion while surviving rougher seas, adding complexity and cost. Early projects struggled with the risk. Now developers are taking a more pragmatic route.

Rather than betting everything on fully novel designs, projects like Pentland are combining what works with what is new. Standard seabed export cables handle most of the journey to land. Flexible dynamic sections are used only where movement is unavoidable, close to the floating platforms themselves.

That restraint matters. Subsea cables, especially dynamic ones, are widely seen as one of the biggest technical and insurance risks in offshore wind. By limiting how much unproven technology is deployed, developers reduce uncertainty. Projects become easier to insure, easier to finance, and more likely to reach construction without delay.

The ripple effects are already spreading. Grid operators are planning for a future where floating wind supplies a meaningful share of renewable power, particularly in deep-water regions such as Scotland, Norway, and southern Europe. At the same time, cable makers, marine contractors, and engineers are gearing up for steady demand as projects scale.

Plenty of challenges remain. High-capacity dynamic cables are still evolving, and costs remain high. But each commercial project closes the gap. With policy support firming and grid solutions improving, floating wind is settling into a phase of sustained growth that could reshape offshore power in the years ahead.