Offshore wind energy

Abstract

With worldwide energy demand booming and public concern over the environmentalimpact of conventional sources of energy rising, renewable energies are gaining supportas an alternative to fossil fuels. Onshore wind energy is one of the most mature forms ofrenewable energy and has been developed at the utility scale since the 1980s. However,the best wind resources are likely to be found offshore. In the 1990s, utility companiesstarted turning to the ocean for wind energy. This move came with technologicalchallenges. The industry had to adapt conventional wind turbine design for long-termoperations in the offshore environment, drawing, at first, on experience in the oil and gasindustry. Foundations, which can be fixed in the seabed or floating on the water surface,are adapted to local soil and water depth conditions. The wind turbines are increasing incapacity to optimize costs and they are modified to meet the specific requirements of theoffshore environment. Energy transmission occurs through special underwater cables.The industry has yet to converge on a proven technology for these structures. The nextchallenge facing the offshore wind industry is the industrialization of the fabrication,installation, and operation of offshore wind turbines, with their integration in large windparks, with dozens of units and hundreds of megawatts of capacity. The fixed monopiles,the most advanced form of offshore foundation, are leading the way. Improvements ingrid management and cable technologies will be essential to allow utilities to exploitwind resources farther from shore and integrate the intermittent wind energy output intothe utility grid. © 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.