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Floating Offshore Wind

Floating Wind Turbine Designs
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: 885

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Spatiotemporal Variations of Ocean Upwelling and Downwelling Induced by Wind Wakes of Offshore Wind Farms Liu, K., Du, J., Larsén, X. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Physical Environment
Strategic study of collision risk for birds on migration and further development of the stochastic collision risk modelling tool Woodward, I., Franks, S., Bowgen, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Seabird tagging feasibility for the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy Cook, A., Pollock, C., Bogdanova, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Seabirds
Understanding seabird behaviour at sea part 2: improved estimates of collision risk model parameters Cook, A., Thaxter, C., Davies, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Impacts of offshore wind power development on China's marine economy and environment: A study from 2006 to 2019 Liu, G., Kong, Z., Sun, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Social & Economic Data
Acoustic ecology of harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) between two U.S. offshore wind energy areas Holdman, A., Tregenza, N., Van Parijs, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
FEASIBILITY STUDY ON PREREQUISITES AND SPECIFICS OF FLOATING WIND FARMS DEPLOYMENT IN THE BULGARIAN OPEN SHELF Nikolov, G., Truhkchev, D., Kishev, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind
Oceanographic Effects of Offshore Wind Structures and Their Potential Impacts on the North Atlantic Right Whale and Their Prey Brodie, J., Manhard, R., Krebs, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Avian monitoring by cameras on buoys Spoor, Equinor Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Birds
Estimates of cetacean abundance in European Atlantic waters in summer 2022 from the SCANS-IV aerial and shipboard surveys Gilles, A., Authier, M., Ramirez-Martinez, N. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
IECS Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics, Science and Technology (WGFAST) Ariza, A., Diogoul, N., Gastauer, s. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Analysis of microplastics in sediments from the Hywind Scotland wind farm Piarulli, S., Sorensen, L., Kubowicz, S. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Chemicals Physical Environment
Marine Energy Sources for Decarbonization of Mediterranean Regions Through Maritime Spatial Planning Pulselli, R., Mecca, S., Bastianoni, S. Book Chapter Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Floating wind and wave energy technologies: applications, synergies and role in decarbonization in Portugal White, C., Carrelhas, A., Gato, L. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Megafauna Aerial Surveys in the Wind Energy Areas of Southern New England with Emphasis on Large Whales: Final Report Campaign 7, 2022 O'Brien, O., McKenna, K., Hsu, S. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Vulnerability Index to Scale Effects of Offshore Renewable Energy on Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles Off the U.S. West Coast (VIMMS) Southall, B., Mazurek, R., Eriksen, R. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
DemoSATH Floating Offshore Wind Demonstrator Senvion Project Site Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind
Towards understanding environmental and cumulative impacts of floating wind farms: Lessons learned from the fixed-bottom offshore wind farms Rezaei, F., Contestabile, P, Vicinanza, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, EMF Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates
Cruise report Hywind Tampen 13 to 28 March 2023 Utne-Palm, A., Søiland, H., Sveistrup, A. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Pelagic Fish
Floating offshore wind farms in Mediterranean marine protected areas: a cautionary tale Lloret, J., Wawrzynkowski, P., Dominguez-Carrió, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Offshore Grid Connection Pathway – Phase 2 Commission for Regulation of Utilities Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
The rapid expansion of offshore wind farms challenges the reliability of ICES-coordinated fish surveys—insights from the Baltic Sea Haase, S., von Dorrien, C., Kaljuste, O. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
FINAL Information Needed for Issuance of a Notice of Intent (NOI) Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Integrating Bird and Marine Mammal Monitoring into Offshore Wind Energy Development Infrastructure and Operations Courbis, S., Etter, H., Pacini, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Entanglement Birds, Marine Mammals
Hywind Tampen Siemens Gamesa Project Site Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind
Maritime Spatial Planning in Europe: Discussion Paper on the Challenges and Potential Opportunities Around the Colocation of Offshore Wind Energy with Marine Protected Areas Stephenson, P. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Environmental DNA reveals spatial patterns of fish and plankton diversity at a floating offshore wind farm Hestetun, J., Ray, J., Murvoll, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Fish
Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) from subsea power cables in the natural marine environment Gill, A., Hutchison, Z., Desender, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind EMF
Life cycle assessment of a floating offshore wind farm in Italy Brussa, G., Grosso, M., Rigamonti, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Power Analysis for Optimal Design of a Passive Acoustic Monitoring Network for US East Coast Offshore Wind Chudzinska, M., Thomas, L. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Considerations for Floating Wind Energy Development in the Gulf of Maine Musial, W., MacDonald, S., Fuchs, R. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Shutting down offshore wind turbines during peak bird migration Rijkswaterstaat Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Environmental benthos survey, Hywind Scotland Moskeland, T. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Do the metals released by galvanic anodes used in offshore wind farms pose a risk to the marine environment? Henry, S., Amouroux, I., Aragon, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Chemicals Physical Environment, Water Quality
Metabarcoding of sediment eDNA communities at the Hywind Scotland OWF – A pilot study Hestetun, J., Dahlgren, T. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change
Assessing the Balance Between Nature and People in European Seas: Maritime Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean Sea World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Mapping Environmental Considerations for Marine Spatial Planning in Wales: Methodology Murray, L., Bloomfield, H., Skates, L. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
What are the potential effects of the electromagnetic fields produced by offshore wind farm power cables on marine organisms? Henry, S., Carlier, A., Chauvaud, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind EMF Fish, Invertebrates
Guide to a floating offshore wind farm BVG Associates Guidance Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Physical Environment
Setting EU Threshold Values for continuous underwater sound Druon, J., Hanke, G., Casier, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals

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