Utilizing What We Know To Develop a New Source of Energy

Abstract

Summary There are growing incentives to develop offshore wind farms. As with the early oilfield developments of 1900 to 1920, most of the wind developments to date have extended onshore designs and construction techniques to shallow waters. It is time to apply what we in the offshore oil and gas industry have learned to arrive at truly fit-for-purpose offshore solutions for wind-farm development. This paper describes the needs of a typical wind farm and how these differ from those of a typical offshore oil and gas project. It draws on recent AMEC experiences in the design and installation of offshore wind turbines in Europe and studies performed in Houston. Information and expertise exists within the current oil and gas industry to allow safe and economical designs of offshore wind farms in depths where bottom-supported structures are economical choices. Consideration of the following, however, will lead to different solutions: each installation may require 100 or more structures, the ratios of axial loads to lateral loads are much lower, torsion loads are considerable, and rotating blades will have significant dynamic effects. A proper design must take into account economics of scale ("design one, build 100") and assembly-linetype planning for component fabrication, transportation, assembly, and installation. The methods and application of technologies successfully used by the offshore oil and gas industry can advance the development of offshore wind-energy projects. The tremendous amount of expertise, data, design technology, and construction knowledge accumulated by the offshore oil and gas industry has the potential to aid a great leap forward for wind energy. While future research and data collection can help optimize the designs, there is no need to further delay projects by waiting on these results.