OFFSHORE WIND: A CRASH COURSE
OFFSHORE WIND:
DEFINED
OFFSHORE WIND:Construction of wind farms in bodies of water to generate electricity from wind. Unlike the typical usage of the term “o�shore” in the marine industry, o�shore wind power includes inshore water areas such as lakes, fjords and sheltered coastal areas, utilizing traditional fixed-bottom wind turbine technologies, as well as deeper-water areas utilizing floating wind turbines.
THE US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has further defined o�shore wind power based on its siting in terms water depth to include shallow water, transitional water and deep water o�shore wind power.
OFFSHORE WIND:
HISTORY
CAPE WIN
D
2001
2017
MA LEGISLATION
DOE DEMO ROUND 2
BLOCK ISLAND2006
NJ LEG
2008
DE PROJE
CT
2009
DE PROJE
CT
2010
DE PROJE
CT
2011
DOE DEMO P
ROJECTS
ROUND 1
2013
MD LEGISL
ATION
2014
THE N
ETWORKS F
IRST
IPF H
OSTIN
G
2015
THE N
ETWORK E
XPANDS S
COPE BEYO
ND MD
COP 21 &
WHIT
E HOUSE
SUMMIT
2012
THE N
ETWORK IS
FOUNDED
2016
OFFSHORE WIND:
FIXED FOUNDATION FARMS
THERE ARE OVER 50 EUROPEAN OFFSHORE WIND FARMS
RESULTING IN
OPERATING CAPACITY
3,813MW
EUROPE’S LEADERS
BE DK FIBELGIUM
DENMARK FINLAND
DE IE NLGERMANY
IRELANDNETHERLANDS
NO SE UKNORWAYSWEDEN
UNITED KINGDOM
TOP 5 HIGHEST CAPACITY OSW FARMSEUROPE:
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
London Array / UK 630MW
Gemini Wind Farm / Netherlands 600MW
Greater Gabbard / UK 504MW
Anholt / Denmark 400MW
400MWBARD O�shore 1 / Germany
OFFSHORE WIND:
ECONOMICS & BENEFITS
O�shore wind prices continue to decrease.In Europe, the purchase price is as low as5.5¢ / kWh
Maryland o�shore wind price
5.5¢kWh
13¢kWh
reduction in energycosts for o�shore windsince 201232%
ECONOMICALLYVIABLE (SOLUTIONS)Improving wind performance models, including how design conditions and the wind resource are influenced by the presence of other wind farms.
Reducing the weight of turbine materials
Eliminating problematic gearboxes
Turbine load-mitigation controls and strategies
Turbine and rotor designs to minimize hurricane and ty-phoon damage
Economic modeling and optimization of costs of the overall wind farm system, including installation, operations, and maintenance
Service methodologies, remote monitoring, and diagnostics
ONE OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT CREATES
construction jobs1,000+
new jobs75,000
AND 4-6GW SUPPORTS A NORTHEAST REGIONAL PIPELINE CREATING
OFFSHORE WIND:
TECHNICAL DETAILS
PARTS OF A WIND TURBINE
1
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
32
45
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
ANEMOMETERNACELLEGEAR BOXBRAKEBLADEROTORTOWERPOWER CABLEYAW MOTORYAW DRIVEGENERATORCONTROLLER
MONOPILEA monopile (single column) base, six meters in diameter, is used in waters up to 30 meters deep
TRIPODTripod suction caisson struc-tures, in water 20-80m deep
JACKETConventional steel jacket structures, as used in the oil and gas industry, in water 20-80m deep.Floating wind turbines are being developed for deeper water
SUCTIONTripod suction caisson struc-tures, in water 20-80m deep
GRAVITYGravity Base Structures, for use at exposed sites in water 20– 80 m deep
OFFSHORE TURBINES REQUIRE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BASES FOR STABILITY, ACCORDING TO THE DEPTH OF WATER. TO DATE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS EXIST:
FLOATING BASE CONCEPTS
Ballast stabilized “sparbuoy” with catenary mooring drag embedded anchors
Mooring line stabilized ten-sion leg platform with suc-tion pile anchors
Buoyancy stabilized “barge” with catenary mooring lines
OFFSHORE WIND:
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
H2O
REDUCEDSULFUR DIOXIDE
REDUCEDNITROGEN DIOXIDE
REDUCEDPARTICULATE MATTER 2.5
REDUCEDWATER CONSUMPTION& WITHDRAWAL
SO2 NOx PM
CO2
CONCERNSBENEFITSThe risk of seabirds being struck by wind turbine blades or being displaced from critical habitats
The underwater noise associated with the installation process of driving monopile turbines into the seabed
The physical presence of o�shore wind farms altering the behavior of marine mammals, fish, and sea-birds with attraction or avoidance
The potential disruption of the nearfield and farfield marine envi-ronment from large o�shore wind projects