Climate change effects on offshore wind turbines

Abstract

Climate change impacts offshore wind farms in many ways which include: changes in wind speed, wave height, and sea ice. Reports show that a 2–4 degrees rise in temperature, a 1m sea-level rise, and intensification of extreme events like cyclones, tsunamis, etc., are expected by 2100 worldwide. A 15% increase in extreme waves is predicted over the southern hemisphere and Northern Pacific due to 3-degree warming. A significant increase of extreme events is projected over South Australia, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Guinea. This chapter includes a study on the effect of climate change on the dynamic behavior of monopile-supported offshore wind turbines (OWTs) on the west coast of India. The study observed that the fatigue life of the OWTs is substantially reduced.