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: 781

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
CENTRAL EÓLICA OFFSHORE WINDFLOAT ATLANTIC WindPlus, Julio de Jesus Consultores Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Winter 2017-2018 Taxonomic Analysis Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
ORJIP Impacts from Piling on Fish at Offshore Wind Sites: Collating Population Information, Gap Analysis and Appraisal of Mitigation Options Boyle, G., New, P. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Pelagic Fish
Hywind Tampen vindpark. Vurdering av konsekvenser for sjøfugl. Moe, B., Christensen-Dalsgaard, S., Follestad, A. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds, Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Ornithological and Marine Fauna Aerial Survey of Lease Area OCSA 0512 Monthly Report: March 2018 Jervis, L., Warford, S., Goddard, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Hywind Tampen vindpark Konsekvenser for fiskeriene Aaserød, M., Bjørgesæter, A. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries
Field validation of radar systems for monitoring bird migration Nilsson, C., Dokter, A., Schmid, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement Bats, Birds
Ornithological and Marine Fauna Aerial Survey of Lease Area OCSA 0512 Monthly Report: February 2018 Jervis, L., Warford, S., Goulding, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy 2016-2017 Large Bony Fish and Fish Shoal Interim Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Fish
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summary of Spring 2018 Digital Survey #8 Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Offshore Wind Sediment Stability Evaluation Framework Jones, C., McWilliams, S., Engelmann, G. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
Environmental Management Plan: Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm Project April 2018 Kincardine Offshore Wind Ltd Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Risk of whale encounters with offshore renewable energy mooring lines and electrical cables Copping, A., Grear, M., Sanders, G. Presentation Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Entanglement Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Ornithological and Marine Fauna Aerial Survey Results of Lease Area OCS-A 0512 Equinor Quarterly Report: November 2017 to January 2018 Jervis, L., Warford, S., Wilmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Ornithological and Marine Fauna Aerial Survey of Empire Wind Monthly Report: November 2017 Jervis, L., Warford, S., Wilmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Global Wind Report 2018 Global Wind Energy Council Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Ornithological and Marine Fauna Aerial Survey of Lease Area OCSA 0512 Monthly Report: January 2018 Jervis, L., Warford, S., Willmott, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Wozep Ecological Programme: Tussenstand Wozep 2018 Offshore Wind Ecological Programme (Wozep) Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Passerines, Seabirds, Waterfowl, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Summary Report: Best Management Practices Workshop for Atlantic Offshore Wind Facilities and Marine Protected Species Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Fall 2017 Target Extraction Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summary of Winter 2017–2018 Digital Survey #7 Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Fall 2017 Taxonomic Analysis Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Summary Report of the New York Bight Sea Turtle Workshop Bonacci-Sullivan, L. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summer 2017 Target Extraction Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summary of Fall 2017 Digital Survey #6 Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summer 2017 Taxonomic Analysis Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Hywind Scotland Pilot Park Project Plan for Construction Activities 2017 Statoil Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Life Cycle Assessment of a multi-use offshore platform: Combining wind and wave energy production Elginoz, N., Bas, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Spring 2017 Taxonomic Analysis Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Spring 2017 Target Extraction Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Marine Spatial Plan for Washington’s Pacific Coast Bates, E., Gianou, K., Hennessey, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning, Stakeholder Engagement
Hywind Scotland Pilot Park Siemens Gamesa Project Site Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind
Northeast Offshore Wind Regional Market Characterization: A Report for the Roadmap Project for Multi-State Cooperation on Offshore Wind Grace, R., Shoesmith, J., Donovan, D. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Winter 2017 Taxonomic Analysis Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Winter 2017 Target Extraction Summary Report Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Performance test and verification of an off-the-shelf automated avian radar tracking system May, R., Steinheim, Y., Kvaløy, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Bats, Birds
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summary of Spring 2017 Digital Survey #4 Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Wind Turbines for the Power Supply for Offshore Fish Farms: A Case Study for the Norwegian West Coast Justad, A. Thesis Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Review and analysis of tracking data to delineate flight characteristics and migration routes of birds over the Southern North Sea Gyimesi, A., Evans, T., Linnebjerg, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Passerines, Seabirds, Shorebirds, Waterfowl
Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summary of Winter 2017 Digital Survey #3 Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
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