Fixed Offshore Wind

Capturing energy from offshore wind with bottom-mounted foundations.

Offshore wind energy technologies harness kinetic energy from the wind to generate energy and transport that energy back to shore via a subsea export cable. The main advantage of offshore wind energy is access to stronger and more consistent winds, allowing for the use of larger turbines. The development of offshore wind in Europe and Asia has preceded development activities in other parts of the world; however, several projects in the United States are currently underway.

There are different types of offshore wind turbine foundation on which the turbine can be installed, depending on the depth and substrate. Gravity foundations are used at shallow depths (0-30m) and consist of large, steel or concrete bases that rest on the seabed. Suction bucket foundations are also made from steel or concrete, and are installed using the pressure difference generated between the inside of the bucket and the water surrounding it (without any use of mechanical force). Monopile foundations are used at shallow depths (0-30 m) and consist of a pile that is driven into the seabed. Monopiles are typically less costly than other foundation types and are the most commonly used. Tripod fixed bottom foundations are used at transitional depths (20-80m) and consist of three legs connecting to a central shaft that supports the turbine base. Each leg has a pile driven into the seabed, which creates a wide foundation that allows for the piles to be placed at a shallower depth in the seabed than monopile foundations. Jacket foundations are also used at transitional depths (20-80m) and feature a lattice framework that comprises three to four anchoring points driven into the seafloor.

The environmental concerns associated with offshore wind farms vary with foundation type. Monopiles, for example, require pile-driving, which produces incredibly loud noises that tend to propagate far in the water, even after mitigation strategies such as bubble shields, slow start, and acoustic cladding are employed. Collision risk with birds and bats is a major concern, though the impact is more difficult to quantify offshore because carcasses that provide evidence of collisions become lost at sea. While the footprint of offshore wind energy is relatively small, it may still cause scouring and changes to sediment transport. As with all electricity generation, there is a slight concern that electromagnetic fields generated by power cables may affect animals that use Earth's natural magnetic field for orientation, navigation, and hunting. Artificial reefing is likely to occur around wind farms as the new hard substrate provides protection and attracts colonizing invertebrates and fish.

Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Tethys is a knowledge hub that contains documents on the environmental effects of wind and marine energy. The table below contains all of the documents in the Tethys Knowledge Base associated with Fixed Offshore Wind.

Total: 3803

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Effects of Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations on Mobile Demersal Megafauna and Pelagic Fish - Research at the Alpha Ventus Offshore Wind Farm Krone, R., Krägefsky, S. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates
Evaluating the Statistical Power of Detecting Changes in the Abundance of Seabirds at Sea Maclean, I., Rehfisch, M., Skov, H. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Birds
Beyond Nimbyism: Project Summary Report Devine-Wright, P., Burningham, K., Barnett, J. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Effects Of Pile Driving Sounds On Non-Auditory Tissues Of Fish Popper, A., Halvorsen, M., Casper, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish
Validation of Finite Element Computations for the Quantitative Prediction of Underwater Noise from Impact Pile Driving Zampolli, M., Nijhof, M., de Jong, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Sound Solutions: Construction of Offshore Wind Farms Without Underwater Noise Stichting de Noordzee Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Position paper towards a North Sea Energy System Integration Triple-Helix structure Jepma, C., Klinge, I., Kalfsbeek, J. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
A Marine Spatial Planning Framework for the Optimal Siting of Marine Renewable Energy Installations: Two Danish Case Studies Azzellino, A., Kofoed, J., Lanfredi, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Consequences of a Cumulative Perspective on Marine Environmental Impacts: Offshore Wind Farming and Seabirds at North Sea Scale in Context of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive Busch, M., Kannen, A., Garthe, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Birds, Physical Environment
Bird Monitoring at Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea - Assessing Seabird Displacement Effects Vanermen, N., Stienen, E., Courtens, W. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Birds, Seabirds
Modeling of Underwater Noise from Pile Driving using Coupled Finite Element and Parabolic Equation Model with Improved Parabolic Equation Starting Field Park, J., Seong, W., Lee, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Permitting and Leasing for Marine Offshore Wind Energy Projects Thaler, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Legal & Policy, Human Dimensions
Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Learning from the Past to Optimise Future Monitoring Programmes Degraer, S., Brabant, R., Rumes, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Attitudes of Scottish Fishers Towards Marine Renewable Energy Alexander, K., Wilding, T., Jacomina Heymans, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data
Proceedings of the Wind-Wildlife Research Meeting IX PNWWRM IX Conference Paper Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds
Is a German Harbour Porpoise Much More Sensitive than a British One? Comparative Analyses of Mandatory Measures for the Protection of Harbour Porposes (Phocoena phocoena) During Offshore Wind Farm Ramming in Germany, Denmark and the UK Luedeke, J. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Monitoring and Evaluation Program Near Shore Wind Farm: Fish Community van Hal, R., Couperus, B., Fassler, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish
Public acceptance of offshore wind power: does perceived fairness of process matter? Firestone, J., Kempton, W., Lilley, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Social & Economic Data, Human Dimensions
Turbine Sound May Influence the Metamorphosis Behaviour of Estuarine Crab Megalopae Pine, M., Jeffs, A., Radford, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Invertebrates
Artificial Reef Effect in Relation to Offshore Renewable Energy Conversion: State of the Art Langhamer, O. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Physical Environment
Negative Long Term Effects on Harbour Porpoises from a Large Scale Offshore Wind Farm in the Baltic - Evidence of Slow Recovery Teilmann, J., Carstensen, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Negative long term effects on harbour porpoises from a large scale offshore wind farm in the Baltic—evidence of slow recovery Teilmann, J., Carstensen, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Bird and Bat Collision Risks & Wind Energy Facilities Willmott, J., Allison Costello, E., Gordon, C. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Bats, Birds
Rampion Offshore Wind: Non-Technical Summary RSK Group Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind
Modelling of Pile Driving Noise by Means of Wavenumber Integration Lippert, T., Lippert, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Rampion Offshore Wind: Environmental Statement E.ON Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Horns Rev 2 Offshore Wind Farm Bird Monitoring Program 2010-2012 Skov, H., Leonhard, S., Heinänen, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Collision, Avoidance Birds
Strategic Joint Industry Project No.1: Bird avoidance behavior and collision impact monitoring at Offshore Windfarms Marine Scotland Science, Scottish Government, UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision Birds
The economics of visual disamenity reductions of offshore wind farms—Review and suggestions from an emerging field Ladenburg, J., Lutzeyer, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Visual Impacts, Human Dimensions
D2.4 Collation of Off‐shore Wind‐Wave Dynamics Bredmose, H., Larsen, S., Matha, D. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind
ReNews Global Offshore Wind Report 2012 Westbrook, T., Kennedy, S., Wachtmeister, W. Magazine Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind
A Case Study on the Effects of Underwater Noise During the Construction of Large Offshore Wind Farms Mason, T., Barham, R., Nedwell, J. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Assessing the Environmental Impact of Underwater Noise During Offshore Windfarm Construction and Operation Nedwell, J., Mason, T., Barham, R. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
Mitigation of Low-Frequency Underwater Anthropogenic Noise using Stationary Encapsulated Gas Bubbles Lee, K., Wochner, M., Wilson, P. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Analysis of the Argyll Array Turbine Layout Iterations in Relation to Ornithological Constraints Bullman, R., Shaylon, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
East Anglia ONE Offshore Windfarm: Environmental Statement Environmental Resource Management Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Birds, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Identifying ecologically important marine areas for seabirds using behavioural information in combination with distribution patterns Camphuysen, K., Shamoun-Baranes, J., Bouten, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Marine Energy Seabirds, Birds
Effects on Harbour Porpoises from Rødsand 2 Offshore Wind Farm Teilmann, J., Tougaard, J., Carstensen, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Marine Mammals
Tracking seabirds to identify ecologically important and high risk marine areas in the western North Atlantic Montevecchi, W., Hedd, A., Tranquilla, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Marine Energy Seabirds, Birds
Argyll Array Offshore Windfarm Report to Inform a Shadow Appropriate Assessment - Great Northern Diver Potential SPAs NIRAS Consulting Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Birds, Seabirds
Displaying 3001 - 3040 of 3803 results