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
Changes to Fisheries and Ecosystems Sun, M., Foley, C., Kinnell, J. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Building Sustainable Offshore Wind Futures Through Collaborative Research Programs Savitsky, I., Shumchenia, E., Bland, K. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Entanglement Birds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Analysis of the Impact of Wind Farm Construction on the Marine Environment Lazuga, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Chemicals Physical Environment, Water Quality
Working Group on Offshore Renewable Energy (WGORE; outputs from 2023 meeting) Rumes, B., Wood, D., Copping, A. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Resource Equivalency Analysis: Quantifying Mitigation for Offshore Wind Projects Grigelis, P., Phillips-Hagedorn, M. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Seabirds, Shorebirds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Compensatory Mitigation for Offshore Wind Baker, K. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Offshore Wind Energy Development and Compensatory Mitigation in the Northeast Region Vail-Muse, S. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
State of the Sector Report 2024 Marine Energy Wales Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Understanding Potential Environmental Impacts with Existing Research California Ocean Science Trust Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Seabirds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals
Impacts from Noise California Ocean Science Trust Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise
Impacts to Whales and Other Marine Mammals California Ocean Science Trust Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement, Entanglement, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Impacts to Marine Mammals from Pre-Construction Surveys California Ocean Science Trust Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Impacts from Electromagnetic Fields California Ocean Science Trust Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind EMF Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Impacts to Fish and Seafloor Habitats California Ocean Science Trust Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Invertebrates
Impacts to Seabirds California Ocean Science Trust Summary Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
Environmental Impact Assessment of Offshore Wind Farms in Deep Waters Alawady, A., Senthurya, S., Saritha, G. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Marine Mammals
Global Offshore Wind Report 2024 Williams, R., Zhao, F. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Integrated Environmental & Social Sensitivity Mapping: Guidance for Early Offshore Wind Spatial Planning World Bank Group Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Recreation & Tourism
The effect of moral framing on attitudes towards offshore wind farms in Turkey Goral, E., Hannum, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Social & Economic Data
France Energies Marines Annual Report 2023 France Energies Marines Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Noise pollution causes parental stress on marine invertebrates, the Giant scallop example Gigot, M, Tremblay, R., Bonnel, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Invertebrates
Making eco-sustainable floating offshore wind farms: Siting, mitigations, and compensations Danovaro, R., Bianchelli, S., Brambilla, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Environmental DNA monitoring of fish communities at the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm Hestetun, J., Mayers, K., Mugu, S. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Physical Environment, Water Quality
Opportunities for enhancing biodiversity at wind and solar energy developments Jobson, B., Cook, A., Fletcher, C. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Changes in Flow, Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Reptiles, Terrestrial Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement
Environmental impacts from large-scale offshore renewable-energy deployment Ouro, P., Fernandez, R., Armstrong, A. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
Modeling the impact of floating offshore wind turbines on marine food webs in the Gulf of Lion, France Adge, M., Lobry, J., Tessier, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Life Cycle Assessment of Offshore Wind Farms – A Comparative Study of Floating Vs. Fixed Offshore Wind Turbines Lotfizadeh, O. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Hywind Tampen glider monitoring Priou, P., Ramasco, V., Thorstensen, M. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates
Winds of Progress: An In-Depth Exploration of Offshore, Floating, and Onshore Wind Turbines as Cornerstones for Sustainable Energy Generation and Environmental Stewardship Afridi, S. K., Koondhar, M. A., Jamali, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting Bats, Birds, Raptors, Seabirds, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Future Framework for Offshore Renewable Energy Policy Statement 2024 Department of Environment Climate and Communications Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
D2.1 Analysis of social and environmental barriers and enablers Miquel, S., Martinez, A., Juan, R. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
SEABIRD: System for Environmental Assessment of Bird/Bat Interactions with Real-time Detection Chang, G., Chevitarese, M., Kramer, S. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision Bats, Birds
Offshore Energy Development in Poland: Social and Economic Dimensions Chomác-Pierzecka, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Impacts
Autonomous thermal tracking reveals spatiotemporal patterns of seabird activity relevant to interactions with floating offshore wind facilities Schneider, S., Kramer, S., Bernstein, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Mapping the Way Forward: Spatial Data Inventory and Insights for Marine Planning in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina Wright, J., Wright, M., Wilson, R. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Offshore Wind Facts: Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles Special Initiative on Offshore Wind Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Offshore Wind Facts: Jobs and Workforce Development Special Initiative on Offshore Wind Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Offshore Wind Facts: Coastal and Marine Habitats Special Initiative on Offshore Wind Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
Offshore Wind Facts: Birds and Bats Special Initiative on Offshore Wind Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Lighting, Noise Bats, Birds
Primary vs grey: A critical evaluation of literature sources used to assess the impacts of offshore wind farms Szostek, C., Edwards-Jones, A., Beaumont, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, Habitat Change, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
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