In a new report published on 26 March 2026, The Carbon Trust announced that expertise in wet storage solutions from Frazer-Nash Consultancy together with Tadek and Ryder Engineering will help to tackle the logistics challenge of temporarily parking dozens of foundations for floating wind turbines prior to installation around the UK, or internationally. Optimising space to store floating wind turbine substructures following fabrication and streamlining offshore schedules will be paramount in running efficient installation campaigns of commercial-scale floating wind farms.
The UK has been successful in building offshore wind farms with fixed foundations at shallow water depth close to shore. Installing turbines further offshore enables access to stronger, more consistent wind and increased energy yields but the deeper water necessitates new floating turbine solutions. The new turbines and their floating foundation are huge: up to 200m rotor diameter for the turbine and 100m x 100m (or a hectare) for the foundation. The most practical approach is to connect the two at or close to the dock - rather than out in deepwater, with the added challenge of dynamic sea conditions – before towing them to the location of the wind farm. Installation is seasonal: tending to happen in the summer months when the weather is good, while fabrication onshore can continue all the year round. Built structures then have to be stored while awaiting installation, to allow more structures to be built. This creates a logistical challenge of storing completed turbines prior to towing to site which has a significant impact on the time and costs of installation.
This challenge is being addressed by the Wet Storage Solutions Project, delivered through the Floating Wind Joint Industry Programme (FLWJIP): a world-leading collaborative research and development initiative between The Carbon Trust and 17 leading international offshore wind developers dedicated to overcoming technological challenges and advancing commercialisation of floating offshore wind.
With deep domain knowledge of floating wind from turbine to farm level, proven expertise in independently appraising novel technology solutions, and familiarity with the specific challenges of installing and operating infrastructure in the harsh offshore environment, Frazer-Nash has supported the FLWJIP Programme through various research projects for since it began.
Applying this expertise, Frazer-Nash and the consortium members investigated the requirements and limitations associated with wet storage, performing detailed evaluations of both moored and grounded storage solutions, and providing a set of industry recommendations for floating wind developers and stakeholders to consider. The key finding was that wet storage can reduce the time taken to install a 500MW floating wind farm by up to 33% and the impact can be increased for a larger installation, reaching up to 50% for a 1GW floating wind farm, making significant cost savings for the operator.
Dr Paul Mather, Business Development Manager, Renewables, at Frazer-Nash Consultancy said: “Frazer-Nash has been a proud supporter of The Carbon Trust’s world-leading collaborative research and development programmes for offshore wind, working on the Offshore Wind Accelerator Programmes for over 15 years and the last six years on the Floating Wind Joint Industry Programme.”
“Frazer-Nash has a well-deserved reputation for tackling some of the world’s most complex technical challenges in the wind sector. We are proud that alongside our consortium partners on the Wet Storage Solution project, we have identified practical solutions which will support the next generation of floating wind turbines to accelerate the safe deployment of renewable technology which is going to deliver reliable, affordable clean energy to homes and businesses and ensure energy security and energy sovereignty for the UK.”
Experts from the Frazer-Nash team which worked on the Wet Storage Solutions project will be presenting their findings at the Global Offshore Wind Conference in Manchester, UK on 16-17 June 2026.
To book an appointment with our experts, please contact Paul Mather: p.mather@fnc.co.uk
