Large-scale floating offshore wind ports and factories are expected to be built in the UK with the help of £160 million in new government funding.

The money is designed to support the prime minister’s Ten Point Plan to deliver 1GW of energy through floating offshore wind by 2030, which is nearly nine times more than current volumes worldwide.

Floating wind allows wind farms to be built further out to sea in deeper waters, boosting energy capacity where winds are the strongest.

With additional private sector investment, the aim is to develop port infrastructure capable of “mass-producing” floating offshore wind turbines and installing them out at sea, with the promise of creating thousands of new jobs and reducing imports while doing it.

Deep waters off the coast of Scotland and Wales are seen as primary locations for the development, including in Aberdeen in Scotland, where there are already two floating offshore wind farms.

Prime minister Boris Johnson said: “Tapping into this emerging sector will boost our clean electricity generation even further, creating jobs and green innovation across the whole of the UK.”

New offshore wind ports to support traditional wind farms are also being developed in Teesside and Humberside.

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