Floating Offshore Wind

Capturing energy from offshore wind using floating 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. Several floating offshore wind energy demonstrations exist throughout the world, but the technology is yet to be widely deployed.

Floating foundations are used at deep depths (40->1000m) and consist of a balanced floating substructure moored to the seabed with fixed cables. The substructure may be stabilized using buoyancy, mooring lines, or a ballast. Several designs for floating offshore wind substructures currently exist for various depth ranges, including barges, semi-submersibles, tension leg platforms, and single point anchorage buoys. These substructures are connected to one another via inter-array cables, which transport electricity generated from the turbine to floating offshore substations. High voltage export cables then transport the energy to shore. To better understand floating offshore wind, explore these videos from RWE.

The environmental concerns associated with offshore wind farms vary with foundation type. In general, 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. 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. Although pile driving is one of the main concerns surrounding fixed offshore wind energy, floating projects can be constructed onshore and transported out to sea, reducing the impacts from construction-related noise and vessels. Floating foundation’s mooring lines may cause minor scouring or pose a risk of collision or entrapment, but the turbine foundation is mostly located in the upper layer of the water column where there tend to be less organisms.

Photo Credit: Joshua Bauer, NREL

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 Floating Offshore Wind.

Total: 789

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Community benefit agreement preferences for energy development offshore California, Oregon, and Washington: Insights from a choice-based conjoint experiment Taufiq, H., Stelmach, G., Rahman, U. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Assessing the impacts of offshore wind turbines on suspended sediments concentration in northern China coastal waters on the basis of Sentinel-1/2 Hou, Y., Yu, D., Xing, Q. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Physical Environment
A call to standardize metrics for monitoring baleen whales near marine construction activities Szesciorka, A., Severy, M., Ampela, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Avoiding and Minimising Environmental Impacts Offshore Coalition For Energy & Nature (OCEaN) Summary Marine Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish
A Framework for Analysing and Improving Graduate Attributes and Employability in the Blue Economy Cossu, R., Adams, L., Pountney, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Marine Spatial Planning-Based Siting Methodology for Co-Located Offshore Wind and Wave Energy Cullen, E., Fitzgerald, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning, Navigation
Transactional or transformative? Offshore wind developer perspectives on community benefit mechanisms in the United States Ruscetta, L., Korein, E., Miller, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Effects of Concurrent Pile Driving on Marine Mammal Acoustic Range Tripathy, A., Fowler, K., Fowler, K. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Seasonal and spatial variations in activity of short- distance migrating bats in relation to weather conditions Klang, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats
Offshore Environmental Monitoring with Platform-Mounted Sensors Szesciorka, A., Farr, H., Severy, M. Summary Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Reimagining community-centered engagement to guide offshore wind planning and development Henderson, C., Duffy, K., Rose, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
Near Real-Time Passive Acoustic Mitigation Monitoring: Three Case Studies Malinka, C., Tabbutt, S., Matei, M. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Acoustic Impact of a Floating Wind Turbine Prototype in the Mediterranean Sea Buscaino, G., Papale, E., Ceraulo, M. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
Assessing the Life Cycle Environmental Performance of Floating Wind Turbines Yildiz, N., Baniotopoulos, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Offshore Renewable Energy Development on the West Coast: Understanding Effects on Shipping, Fisheries, and Maritime Activities National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Navigation
Beyond Local Footprints: Disentangling Large-­Scale Redistribution and Local Abundance Responses to Offshore Wind Farms Mercker, M., Garthe, S., Peschko, V. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
Quantifying the Effects of Mitigation Measures on North Sea Shipping Noise de Jong,C., Gaida, T., Binnerts, B. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise
Offshore wind and aquaculture co-location: challenges and opportunities in US Federal Waters Couture, J., Jensen, B., Riley, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Offshore Wind and the Spatial Squeeze: A Plausible Future Layout for the North Sea Waldman, S., Munro, P., Gilmour, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
How risky is the development of Offshore Wind Farms on a Mediterranean island?A case study in Paros, Greece Skiniti, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Underwater Radiated Noise Levels along the California Coast for Participating Vessels in the 2025 Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program Conti, M., Reeves, L., Haver, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
GINGR White Paper: Road Map for Biodiversity Net Gain in the Offshore Renewables Sector Cook, A., Jobson, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Hidden movers in the wind farm: Functional stakeholders improving offshore wind development in Taiwan Chang, Y., Hung, Y-P., Hsu, T-Y. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
A review of biofouling characteristics and issues for offshore renewable energy industry Portas, A., Briand, J-F., Damblans, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Establishing floating offshore wind as a mainstream energy solution Harvey, M., Coccoli, C. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
Three-dimensional spatial planning of collection systems in floating offshore wind farms: A two-stage optimization method Tao, S., Yang, J., Zheng, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Improving the evidence base for coexistence between offshore renewables and commercial fishing Harding, J., Boblin, E., Coyle, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement
Underwater Noise in Offshore Wind Farms: Monitoring Technologies, Acoustic Characteristics, and Long-Term Adaptive Management Zhu, P., Hu, Z., Li, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
2025 REWI Technology Catalog Portfolio Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI) Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Comparative analysis of onshore, offshore, and floating wind turbines for renewable energy systems: A review Koondhar, M., Albsha, L., Mahmoud, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
The Effects of Time and Exposure on Coastal Community Opinions on Multi-Use Offshore Installations Combining Fish Farms with Renewable Energy Generation Billing, S-L., Tett, P., Charalambides, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
OFF-COUSTICS: Predicting The Underwater Acoustic Footprint Of Offshore Wind Turbines Ferrer, E., Botero-Bolivar, L., Marino, O. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise
Developing an ecological risk-based approach to facilitate licensing offshore wind development Bolam, S., Cooper, K., Downie, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Invertebrates
Offshore Wind Development in Atlantic Canada: Regional Metocean and Geotechnical Design Consideration and Opportunities Ralph, F., Stuckey, P., Fuglem, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Physical Environment
Effects of electromagnetic fields on flatfish activity levels Chapman, E., Rochas, C., Burns, Z. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind EMF Fish, Demersal Fish
Offshore Wind Site Characterization: Examples from Nova Scotia, America, and Europe King, T., Griffiths, L., Vanneste, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Physical Environment
Incorporating Indigenous perspectives: an impact assessment of renewable energy development on wildlife conservation Wang, Y., Sun, J., Meadows, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Geological Characterization of Offshore Wind Energy Areas on the Scotian Shelf Marling, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Physical Environment
Real-time Artificial Intelligence Species Recognition for Marine Biodiversity Monitoring: A Transformative Approach for Offshore Wind Management Summerfield, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Geospatial analysis of the life cycle global warming impacts from marine renewables Engelfried, T., Alday, M., Raghavan, V. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
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