The offshore wind industry runs on several overlapping technologies: fixed-bottom foundations for shallow water, floating platforms for deep water, increasingly large turbines, and subsea cable systems that carry power back to shore. Together, these technologies define where wind farms can be built, how much power they generate, and what kind of workforce is needed to install and maintain them. Below, we break down each technology category and explain what it means for the industry in 2026.
What are the main types of offshore wind foundations?
The main types of offshore wind foundations are monopiles, jacket foundations, gravity-based structures, and tripods. Monopiles are the most widely used, accounting for the large majority of installed capacity worldwide. The right foundation type depends on water depth, seabed conditions, and turbine size.
Here is a quick comparison of the most common foundation types:
- Monopile: A single large steel tube driven into the seabed. Suited for water depths up to roughly 40 meters. Fast to install and cost-effective at scale.
- Jacket foundation: A lattice steel structure with multiple legs. Used in deeper or more complex seabed conditions, typically 30 to 60 meters. Common in the North Sea.
- Gravity-based structure: A concrete base that sits on the seabed without piling. Works well where drilling is difficult, but requires careful seabed preparation.
- Tripod and tripile: Three-legged steel structures that spread the load across a wider footprint. Less common but useful in specific soil conditions.
As turbines grow heavier and projects move into deeper water, jacket foundations and new hybrid designs are gaining ground. The choice of foundation directly determines which vessels, installation crews, and engineering specialists a project needs.
How does floating offshore wind technology work?
Floating offshore wind turbines sit on buoyant platforms anchored to the seabed by mooring lines rather than fixed structures. The platform keeps the turbine stable while allowing it to move slightly with waves and wind. Power travels from the turbine through a dynamic cable to a subsea junction and then to shore.
There are three main floating platform designs currently in use or under active development:
- Spar-buoy: A long cylindrical hull that extends deep below the surface, providing stability through ballast. Works well in very deep water.
- Semi-submersible: A wider, shallower platform with multiple columns. Easier to assemble in port and suitable for a range of water depths.
- Tension leg platform (TLP): Anchored by vertical tethers under tension, keeping the platform very stable. More complex to install but highly effective in the right conditions.
Floating wind opens up vast ocean areas that fixed-bottom technology simply cannot reach, including waters off the coasts of Japan, Norway, Portugal, and the US West Coast. Most commercial-scale floating wind projects are still in the early stages, but the pipeline for 2026 and beyond is growing quickly.
What’s the difference between fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind?
The key difference is how the turbine is anchored. Fixed-bottom wind turbines are attached directly to the seabed, which limits them to water depths of roughly 60 meters or less. Floating wind turbines are moored to the seabed and can operate in water depths of 60 meters and far beyond, making them suitable for deep-water locations.
In practical terms, this means:
- Fixed-bottom is the proven, lower-cost technology dominating current offshore wind capacity.
- Floating wind unlocks new geographies but comes with higher installation complexity and cost.
- Fixed-bottom projects rely on jack-up vessels; floating projects require heavy-lift vessels and specialized mooring teams.
- Floating wind requires different engineering skills, different crew profiles, and different supply chain logistics.
Both technologies will coexist for the foreseeable future. Fixed-bottom will continue to dominate in the North Sea and other shallow-water regions, while floating wind scales up in deeper markets.
How big are modern offshore wind turbines?
Modern offshore wind turbines are significantly larger than their onshore counterparts. The largest turbines currently being installed have a capacity of 14 to 15 megawatts, with rotor diameters exceeding 220 meters. Several manufacturers have announced turbines in the 18 to 20 MW range for deployment later this decade.
To put the scale in perspective, a single rotor blade on a 15 MW turbine is longer than a football pitch. The nacelle alone can weigh several hundred tonnes and needs to be lifted to heights of over 100 meters. This scale drives demand for specialized heavy-lift vessels, larger monopiles, and installation crews with experience handling next-generation equipment.
Bigger turbines mean fewer units needed per project, which can reduce installation time and cost per megawatt. But they also raise the bar for the technical skills and certifications required of the people working on them. If you are looking at offshore wind vacancies today, turbine-specific training and experience with larger platforms are increasingly valuable.
What subsea and grid technologies connect offshore wind to shore?
Offshore wind farms connect to the onshore grid through a combination of inter-array cables, offshore substations, and export cables. The inter-array cables link individual turbines together. The offshore substation steps up the voltage. The export cable then carries high-voltage power back to an onshore grid connection point.
For larger projects and those located far from shore, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission is increasingly used instead of the traditional alternating current (HVAC) approach. HVDC is more efficient over long distances and loses less power during transmission.
Emerging technologies in this space include:
- Offshore hydrogen production: Converting wind power to hydrogen at sea to reduce transmission losses.
- Meshed offshore grids: Interconnecting multiple wind farms and countries through shared subsea infrastructure.
- Dynamic cables for floating wind: Flexible cable systems designed to move with floating platforms without fatigue damage.
The grid and cable side of offshore wind is one of the most technically demanding areas of the industry, with a growing shortage of qualified engineers, cable technicians, and substation specialists across energy and maritime industries.
Which offshore wind technologies are creating the most demand for skilled workers?
The technologies driving the strongest demand for skilled workers in 2026 are floating wind installation, large turbine assembly, HVDC cable systems, and offshore substation commissioning. These are areas where the workforce is still catching up with the pace of project development.
Across the broader offshore wind sector, the roles in highest demand include:
- Installation and commissioning engineers with experience on next-generation turbines
- Marine warranty surveyors and offshore managers for floating wind projects
- Cable jointers and subsea engineers for HVDC and inter-array systems
- Vessel officers and dynamic positioning operators for cable-lay and heavy-lift vessels
- HSE officers and project managers who understand offshore safety regulations
The shift to larger turbines and floating platforms is also creating demand for workers with cross-disciplinary experience, people who understand both the offshore environment and the specific technical requirements of new equipment. Safety qualifications remain non-negotiable: every candidate working on an offshore wind installation must meet international QHSE standards before they step on site.
How iPS Powerful People helps with offshore wind staffing
We have been placing specialists in the offshore energy sector for over 35 years, and offshore wind is one of the fastest-growing parts of our work. Whether you need a single commissioning engineer or a full crew for an installation vessel, we handle the sourcing, screening, and compliance so your project starts on time.
- Crewing and secondment for offshore wind vessels, installation projects, and O&M operations
- Full project staffing from survey and geotechnical phases through to turbine commissioning
- International payroll and compliance, including A1 certificates within the EU and cross-border contract management for projects in multiple countries
- QHSE screening as a standard part of every placement, so you get candidates who meet offshore safety requirements from day one
- Local knowledge through our offices in the Baltics, Croatia, Dubai, Mexico, and beyond, giving us direct access to regional talent pools and an understanding of local labor law
We are also B Corp certified, which means our approach to staffing reflects genuine standards for social and environmental responsibility, not just a marketing claim.
Want to know more about how we work or discuss a specific staffing need? learn about our approach or get in touch with our team directly.