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: 779

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Environmental Impact of Solar and Wind energy- A Review Hamed, T., Alshare, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Accelerating Market Uptake of Floating Offshore Wind Technology (AFLOWT) Brocklehurst, J. , Bradshaw, K. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Use of Chemicals in Offshore Wind Farm Construction and Operation Blake, S., Perry, J., Moran, C. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Chemicals
Hywind Scotland Pilot Park Decommissioning Programme Equinor Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Commercial Wind Lease and Grant Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Humboldt Wind Energy Area, California Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), BOEM Environmental Studies Program Report Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Participatory Methodologies and the Production of Data on Artisanal Fishing in Areas with Offshore Wind Farm Projects in Ceará, Brazil de Figueiredo Xavier, T., Gorayeb, A., Brannstrom, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Using Available Data and Information to Identify Offshore Wind Energy Areas Off the California Coast Rockwood, R., Salas, L., Howar, J. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Presence of Vessels: Effects of Vessel Collision on Marine Life Mahon, A., Oteri, F., Farr, H. Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Maintenance and End-of-Life Analysis in LCA for Barge-Type Floating Wind Turbine Yildiz, N., Hemida, H., Baniotopoulos, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Offshore renewables need an experimental mindset Johnson, A., Dawson, C., Conners, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Comments on the March 22, 2022 Study Outcomes from Conservation Biology Institute Project Workshop Flick, P., Kelly, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Artificial hard-substrate colonisation in the offshore Hywind Scotland Pilot Park Karlsson, R., Tivefälth, M., Duranović, I. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates
Potential impacts of floating wind turbine technology for marine species and habitats Maxwell, S., Kershaw, F., Locke, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Displacement, Entanglement, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Navigation
ThermalTracker-3D Offshore Validation Technical Report Matzner, S., Warfel, T., Hull, R. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds
Future offshore wind scenarios: an assessment of deployment drivers Arup Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Balancing profitability of energy production, societal impacts and biodiversity in offshore wind farm design Virtanen, E.A., Lappallainen, J., Nurmi, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning, Social & Economic Data
Assessment of uncertain alternatives for co-located aquaculture and offshore wind farm in Tasmania Villalba, J., Abdussamie, N., Aryai, V. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Environmental Data Catalog for the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area Johnson, C., Currier, C., Howar, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles
Measuring and visualizing environmental and social impacts of wind energy projects Pian, A., Verhoef, J., De Vries, L. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Human Dimensions
Glider study at Hywind Scotland Ramasco, V. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Investigating avoidance and attraction responses in lesser black-backed gulls Larus fuscus to offshore wind farms Johnston, D., Thaxter, C., Boersch-Supan, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision Birds, Seabirds
Anthropogenic Mixing in Seasonally Stratified Shelf Seas by Offshore Wind Farm Infrastructure Dorrell, R., Lloyd, C., Lincoln, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Hywind Scotland Floating Offshore Wind Farm: Sound Source Characterisation of Operational Floating Turbines Burns, R., Martin, S., Wood, M. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
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
Man-made structures in the marine environment: A review of stakeholders’ social and economic values and perceptions Elrick-Barr, C., Zimmerhackel, J., HIll, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Combining wind power and farmed fish: Coastal community perceptions of multi-use offshore renewable energy installations in Europe Billing, S., Charalambides, G., Tett, P. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data
How can the impacts of an operating wind farm on marine mammals be assessed? Couturier, L., Curé, C., Labach, H. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Marine Mammals
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
Introduction of New Offshore Wind Farm Structures: Effects on Fish Ecology Green, R., Severy, M., Harker-Klimes, G. Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish
Benthic Disturbance from Offshore Wind Foundations, Anchors, and Cables Severy, M., Oteri, F., Green, R. Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment
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
Firefly Floating Offshore Wind Power Project: EIA-Scoping Report Equinor south Korea Corp Ltd Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind
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
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
Displaying 401 - 440 of 779 results