Offshore Wind Farms

Abstract

In Europe there have been many successes with offshore wind farms, since 1991 the installation begun, and there has been 53 European offshore wind farms constructed since. With another ten offshore wind farms under construction, Europe will continue using this source to generate electricity. Onshore wind farms are successful and used all over the world; however there are disadvantages, such as noise and visual effects, which are eliminated with offshore wind farms. The use of offshore compared with onshore has proven more successful as the turbines and rotor blades are generally much larger than onshore structures and there are less obstructions offshore. There are also stronger winds off the coast, making offshore wind farms ideal. Offshore wind farms require large foundations and have multiple types that keep them stable in the ocean to withstand high winds and storms. Different foundations are used for varying depths, as well as a sway concept to account for the wave activity from the ocean. The cost to construct these foundations, as well as the turbines, can be quite large, giving offshore wind farms a disadvantage. [1] The following paper will illustrate the different types of foundations used for various depths of the ocean, how the turbines function, as well as environmental considerations and recovery of the electricity.