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
Life Cycle Assessment of a Barge-Type Floating Wind Turbine and Comparison with Other Types of Wind Turbines Yildiz, N., Hemida, H., Baniotopoulos, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Identifying Ecological Metrics and Sampling Strategies for Baseline Monitoring During Offshore Wind Development Brodie, J., Kohut, J., Zemeckis, D. Workshop Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
What is the value of innovative offshore renewable energy deployment to the UK economy? Cochrane, C., Pennock, S., Jeffrey, H. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Socio-economic impact of a 200 MW floating wind farm in Gran Canaria Schallenberg-Rodriguez, J., Inchausti-Sintes, F. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Year 2 Digital Aerial Wildlife Survey of BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 520 Monthly Report (Year 2): May I 2021 Arundale, M., Warford, S., Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Marine Mammals
Year 2 Digital Aerial Wildlife Survey of BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 520 Monthly Report (Year 2): May II 2021 Arundale, M., Warford, S., Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Marine Mammals
European Scalable Offshore Renewable Energy Source (EU-SCORES) Francisco Correia da Fonseca Research Study Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Distance-Based Sampling Methods for Assessing the Ecological Effects of Offshore Wind Farms: Synthesis and Application to Fisheries Resource Studies Methratta, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Physical Environment, Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Floating Offshore Wind and Fishing Interaction Roadmap Eatough, L. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement
Modeling At-Sea Density of Marine Birds to Support Renewable Energy Planning on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf of the Contiguous United States Leirness, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Marine Mammals
Comparison of Environmental Effects from Different Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations (2021 Revision) Horwath, S., Hassrick, J., Grismala, R. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Reptiles
Experimental and numerical aeroacoustic analysis of an ultrasound whistle Zeng, Z., Sharma, A. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Bats
Floating Offshore Wind Development and Consenting Process – Risks and Opportunities Fairgrieve, R., Wellard, K., Trigg, C. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Draft Preliminary Environmental Assessment: Vandenberg Offshore Wind Energy Projects California State Lands Commission Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Visual Impacts
State of the Sector 2021: Economic Benefits for Wales Marine Energy Wales Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
Conservation Organizations Comments on June 21, 2021 OSW Workshop Cullum, L., Hislop, K., Aylesworth, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Marine Mammals
Modeling Small Scale Impacts of Multi-Purpose Platforms: An Ecosystem Approach Serpetti, N., Benjamins, S., Brain, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Atlantic deepwater ecosystem observatory network: Patterns of acoustic backscatter and community structure of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Miksis-Olds, J., Warren, J., Blair, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals
Year 2 Digital Aerial Wildlife Survey of BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 520 Monthly Report (Year 2): April II 2021 Arundale, M., Warford, S., Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Year 2 Digital Aerial Wildlife Survey of BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 520 Monthly Report (Year 2): March 2021 Arundale, M., Warford, S., Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Estudio de la viabilidad económica y energética de la construcción de un parque eólico offshore en el litoral español. Benich, U. Thesis Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Birds
Year 2 Digital Aerial Wildlife Survey of BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 520 Monthly Report (Year 2): April I 2021 Arundale, M., Warford, S., Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
The Maritime Environment Impact Assessment of Offshore Floating Wind Power in Ulsan - A Focus on Habitat Equivalence Analysis Choi, S-Y., Moon, B-S., Kim, T-G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Potential environmental effects of deepwater floating offshore wind energy facilities Farr, H., Ruttenberg, B., Walter, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
The efficiency and coastal protection provided by a floating wind farm operating in the Romanian nearshore Girleanu, A., Onea, F., Rusu, E. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Visual Impacts
2021 JNCC Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme: Offshore Wind Environmental Evidence Register Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) Webpage Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Vietnam’s Policy for Promoting Offshore Wind Power and Environmental Impact Assessment Son, N., Gam, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Legal & Policy
Del Norte County Offshore Wind Preliminary Feasibility Assessment Chapman, G., Guerrero, I., Jacobson, A. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Guidelines for Lighting and Marking of Structures Supporting Renewable Energy Development Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Guidance Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Lighting Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles
Potential ecosystem effects of large upscaling of offshore wind in the North Sea Zijl, F., Laan, S., Emmanouil, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change
Installation of offshore wind turbines: A technical review Jiang, Z. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Supporting National Environmental Policy Act Documentation for Offshore Wind Energy Development Related to Avian Species Research Fernandez, K., Middleton, P., Salerno, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Birds
Revolution Wind COP Appendix Z1: Assessment of Impacts to Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, and ESA-Listed Fish Species CSA Ocean Sciences Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Offshore Wind Report: Positioning for U.S. Expansion: U.S. Ports and Vessels Innovation American Bureau of Shipping Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Navigation
Evaluating the South Korean public perceptions and acceptance of offshore wind farming: evidence from a choice experiment study Kim, J., Choi, K., Yoo, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
MOTION OF THE CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION FOR APPROVAL OF THE ELECTRIC PROGRAM INVESTMENT CHARGE INTERIM INVESTMENT PLAN 2021 California Energy Commission Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
A Multi-Criteria Approach to Evaluate Floating Offshore Wind Farms Siting in the Canary Islands (Spain) Díaz, H., Soares, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Ongoing Study Plan: Development of Computer Simulations to Assess Entanglement Risk to Whales and Leatherback Sea Turtles in Offshore Floating Wind Turbine Moorings, Cables, and Associated Derelict Fishing Gear Offshore California Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Entanglement Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Delivering Net Zero: the role of Offshore Renewable Energy A COP26 Briefing note prepared by the Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub Greaves, D., Richards, L., White, D. Report Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm Vestas Wind Systems A/S Project Site Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind
Displaying 481 - 520 of 779 results