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: 752

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Year 2 Digital Aerial Wildlife Survey of BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 520 Quarterly Report: July 2021 to October 2021 Arundale, M., Warford, S., Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
The Demand for a Domestic Offshore Wind Energy Supply Chain Shields, M., Marsh, R., Stefek, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
The reef effect induced by wind farms and their grid connection Couturier, L., Lecaillon, G., Lenfant, P. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment
Benthic Disturbance from Offshore Wind Foundations, Anchors, and Cables SEER Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment
Introduction of New Offshore Wind Farm Structures: Effects on Fish Ecology SEER Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish
2022 Pacific Seabird Group 49th Annual Meeting. 22 - 25 February 2022 Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Review on Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Jodha, S., Sharma, V., Arul, A. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Offshore wind farm effects on flounder and gadid dietary habits and condition on the northeastern US coast Wilber, D., Brown, L., Griffin, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Physical Environment
Application of Monte Carlo and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Processes for ranking floating wind farm locations Díaz, H., Teixeira, A., Soares, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Birds, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Recreation & Tourism
A Novel Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model to Evaluate Floating Wind Farm Locations Díaz, H., Soares, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Riding the wave: Challenges and opportunities for marine renewable energies in Canada’s energy transition Forrest, D., Li, X., Aviles, M. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Firefly Floating Offshore Wind Power Project: EIA-Scoping Report Equinor south Korea Corp Ltd Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind
Landscape Decisions to Meet Net Zero Carbon: Pathways that consider ethics, socio-ecological diversity, and landscape functions. Landscape Decisions Report Cole, B., Gardner, E., Willcock, S. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds
Impacts of offshore wind farms on the atmospheric environment over Taiwan Strait during an extreme weather typhoon event Lee, T-Y., Wu, Y-T., Kueh, M-T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow
Life cycle assessment of the use of decommissioned wind blades in second life applications Nagle, A., Mullally, G., Leahy, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Risk to Marine Life from Marine Debris & Floating Offshore Wind Cable Systems SEER Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Entanglement Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Underwater Noise Effects on Marine Life Associated with Offshore Wind Farms SEER Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Environmental Studies Program: Studies Development Plan 2022-2023 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals
Marine Renewable Energy in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: International Regulation and Legal Challenges Melnychenko, M. Thesis Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Preliminary Data Aggregation and Analysis of the Effects on Fish, Marine Mammals, and other Marine Organisms, and the Habitats that Support them, from a Proposed Offshore Wind Farm off the Coast of Grays Harbor, Washington Severy, M., Overhus, D., Tugade, L. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Sampling hard substrates in Dutch offshore: Work plan towards an offshore wind farm hard substrate sampling & monitoring programme in the Netherlands Coolen, J., Wijnhoven, S., Bergsma, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
The Interplay Between EU Law and Regional Sea Conventions: Shaping Environmental Protection in Relation to Offshore Energy Production Across Europe? Giannopoulos, N. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme: Annual Report 2021 The Crown Estate Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy
Environmental Data Catalog for the Humboldt Wind Energy Area Johnson, C., Currier, C., Howar, J. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
An Assessment of the Cumulative Impacts of Floating Offshore Wind Farms Integral Consulting Inc Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Comments on BOEM 2023-2024 Studies Development Plan Pacific Fishery Management Council Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement
Wozep Ecological Programme: Tussenstand Wozep 2021 Offshore Wind Ecological Programme (Wozep) Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Seabirds, Marine Mammals
Improving Monitoring, Data Consistency, Archiving, and Access for Improved Regional Integration of Renewable Energy Science: Workshop on Passive Acoustic Monitoring and Marine Mammals June 2-3, 2021 Field, P., Baker, K., Van Parijs, S. Workshop Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance Research Priorities 2022 Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Legal & Policy
Wozep midterm evaluation 2021 Odinga, J., Barbé, D., van Mastrigt, A. Report Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Legal & Policy
The contribution of ocean-based solutions to carbon reduction in China Feng, C., Ye, G., Jiang, Q. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
FLOATGEN floating wind turbine environmental monitoring report, SEM-REV test site Reynaud, M., Le Bouhris, E., Soulard, T. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind EMF, Noise Birds, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions
Monitoring and Modeling Tree Bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) Occurrence Using Acoustics on Structures off the Mid-Atlantic Coast—Implications for Offshore Wind Development True, M., Reynolds, R., Ford, W. Journal Article Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision Bats
Supporting National Environmental Policy Act Documentation for Offshore Wind Energy Development Related to Munitions and Explosives of Concern and Unexploded Ordnances Middleton, P., Salerno, J., Barnhart, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Hywind Scotland Ornithological Monitoring Programme: Overwintering distributions of common guillemot and razorbill populations in Eastern Scotland Bogdanova, M., Buckingham, L., Newell, M. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Habitat Change Birds
Floating offshore wind turbine aerodynamics: Trends and future challenges Micallef, D., Rezaeiha, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow
Oceanic records of North American bats and implications for offshore wind energy development in the United States Solick, D., Newman, C. Journal Article Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction Bats
Automatic Segregation of Pelagic Habitats Plonus, R-M., Vogl, S., Floeter, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy: Volume 4: Results (Marine Mammals) Pembroke, A., Robinson Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals
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