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
Marine Fish Passage: Underappreciated Threats to Connectivity Within the Marine Environment Lennox, R., Birnie-Gauvin, K., Bate, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Floating Offshore Wind Energy Infrastructure Nielsen, K., Robertson, B., Sierman, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Stakeholder Engagement
Developing the Offshore Wind that Birds Need Seavy, N., Wojcicki, S., Madden, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Lighting, Noise Birds, Passerines, Seabirds, Shorebirds, Waterfowl, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Limited Evidence Base for Determining Impacts (Or Not) of Offshore Wind Energy Developments on Commercial Fisheries Species Gill, A., Bremner, J., Vanstaen, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) Innovation Guide Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Navigating online perceptions of offshore wind on social media: Facebook discussions on recent whale strandings Hausmann G. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Addressing offshore wind farms compatibilities and conflicts with marine conservation through the application of modelled benchmarking scenarios Montero, L., Abramic, A., Marrero, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme: Annual Report 2024 The Crown Estate Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy
Nature Positive: Role of the Offshore Wind Sector World Economic Forum Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Offshore wind decarbonisation pathway Bird, S., Smith, E., Jackson, R. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Scenarios for Replacing Conventional Energy With Offshore Renewable Energy Along the Central California Coast Ruttenberg, B., Wang, Y. , Walter, R. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, Entanglement, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Folk om havvind: Det er veldig i det blå Bratseth, K., Skjølsvold, T., Heidenreich, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
Integrating in situ environmental covariates in an American lobster catch model to improve impact assessment Rzeszowski, E., Reardon, K., Brady, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Scoping an Offshore Wind Sustained Observation Programme (OW-SOP) Monteleone, V., De Dominicis, M., Williams, C. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Physical Environment, Water Quality
Methodology for Combining Digital Aerial Survey Data and Passive Acoustic Baseline Data Harris, D., Chudzinska, M., Jacobson, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Displacement Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Short-term interactions of concrete, biofilm, and seawater in the submerged zone of marine environments for sustainable floating offshore wind turbines Margapuram, D., Salgues, M. , Lami, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Invertebrates
Monitoring Biodiversity at Sea: Discussion paper on advancing standardised biodiversity monitoring for Nature-Positive offshore wind development Stephenson, P. Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
Maritime Spatial Planning Discussion paper on leveraging Maritime Spatial Planning for Nature-Positive offshore wind development le Bihan, M., Rusan, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Going digital: challenges in monitoring marine megafauna when comparing results from visual and digital aerial surveys Quéroué, M., Authier, M., Besnard, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Seabirds in 3D: A Framework to Evaluate Collision Vulnerability with Future Offshore Wind Developments - Interim Project Report #1: Estimating Collision Vulnerability of the Seabird Community Across a Segment of the California Current System Schneider, S., Wallach, E., Chamberlin, C. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds, Shorebirds
Underwater Sound Emissions from the Moorings of Floating Wind Turbines: HYWIND Scotland Case Study Pace, F., Burns, R., Martin, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Underwater sound produced by operational floating wind turbines Marmo, B., Risch, D., van Geel, N. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise
New Horizons: The Space Needed for Offshore Wind Energy in the EU by 2030 and 2040 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Life on every stone: Characterizing benthic communities from scour protection layers of offshore wind farms in the southern North Sea Zupan, M., Coolen, J., Mavraki, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment
NMFS West Coast Offshore Wind Energy Strategic Science Plan National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Options for biodiversity-friendly designs and approaches for offshore wind farms in Ireland BlueWise Marine Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Mapping the Way Forward: Spatial Data Inventory and Insights for Marine Planning Carlton, J., Wilson, R., Wylie, M. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Technology Gaps for Monitoring Birds and Marine Mammals at Offshore Wind Facilities Courbis, S., Williams, K., Stepanuk, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Marine Mammals
Influence of wind on kittiwake Rissa tridactyla flight and offshore wind turbine collision risk Davies, J., Boersch-Supan, P., Clewley, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Maripark Blueprint Ernst & Young Report Marine Energy, Salinity Gradient, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Collaboration or competition? Interactions between floating and fixed-bottom offshore wind in Norway Havinga, H.C., Adriaan van der Loos, H.Z., Steen, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Evaluating the Impacts of Offshore Wind‬ Development on Marine Ecosystems‬ ‭ King, C. Thesis Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Entanglement, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Spatial planning offshore wind energy farms in California for mediating fisheries and wildlife conservation impacts White, C., Wang, Y-H., Walter, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Entanglement Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
A synthetic analysis of post-construction displacement and attraction of marine birds at offshore wind energy installations Lamb, J., Gulka, J., Adams, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Displacement Birds
Offshore wind industry product carbon footprinting guidance: Guidance for measuring the life cycle carbon footprint of offshore wind developments Dineen, C., Shackley, L., Harvey, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Modeling the Underwater Sound of Floating Offshore Windfarms in the Central Mediterranean Sea Baldachini, M., Burns, R., Buscaino, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise
Representative Project Design Envelope for Floating Offshore Wind Energy: A Focus on the California 2023 Federal Leases Cooperman, A., Biglu, M., Hall, M. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Identification of applicable regulation and public policy gaps regarding marine renewable energy in Mexico Rivera, G., Ortiz, M., Rivera-Arriaga, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, OTEC, Salinity Gradient, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Guidance for Pre- and Post-Construction Monitoring to Detect Changes in Marine Bird Distributions and Habitat Use Related to Offshore Wind Development Avian Displacement Guidance Committee Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Displacement Birds
Challenges and Opportunities for Floating Offshore Wind Energy in Ultradeep Waters of the Central Atlantic Musial, W., McCoy, A., Hernando, D. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Entanglement, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
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