Installation Of Offshore Wind Farms Research Articles

Effects of Offshore Wind Farms: Environmental and Social Perspectives from Uruguay

The installation of offshore wind farms is rising, driven by the goal of changing the global energy matrix. However, many of their possible impacts are still unknown. Increased noise levels, disruptions to food chains, pollution due to traffic, and impacts on fishing communities and tourism are all potential effects to consider. Marine habitats are essential carbon dioxide sinks. Therefore, losing marine biodiversity due to offshore wind farms can be counterproductive in mitigating climate change. Balancing biodiversity conservation, wind potential, and political interests is challenging. Today, Uruguay has significantly decreased the fossil share in its electricity generation, incorporating electricity generation from wind, solar, and biomass energy alongside hydroelectricity. In line with this, the country’s Hydrogen Roadmap highlights green hydrogen as relevant, potentially serving as a fuel for both domestic and export transportation. Combining the country’s strong base of wind energy production experience with its sustainable policy, it plans to implement offshore wind farms to produce green hydrogen, making studies of its impacts crucial. This paper reviews the current social and environmental information on the Uruguayan coastal habitat, analyzes onshore wind farms’ ecological studies, and examines offshore wind farms’ global environmental and social impacts. Finally, it proposes studies for environmental approval of offshore wind farms.

The utilization of renewable energy and the economic potential of offshore wind power supported by digital finance

Colombia is well-positioned for the development of sustainable energy due to its abundance of natural resources, which include water, wind, and sun. Regulating the safe and sustainable use of offshore wind energy, which is considered non-conventional, is lacking in the nation, nonetheless. The development of offshore wind technology in Colombia shows potential to meet energy needs during dry hydrological conditions and El Niño/Southern Oscillation events when the hydroelectric system power supply is low. This study examines global initiatives that have encouraged nations to develop plans for cutting their CO2 emissions, stressing both their successes and shortcomings in putting offshore wind technology into practice. An examination of Colombia's renewable energy administrative framework finds a lack of data required to carry out offshore wind projects. Furthermore, a review of previous research on marine energy emphasizes how important it is to expand our knowledge of offshore wind generation. Although the majority of local renewable energy projects concentrate on terrestrial sources, an analysis of wind speed and wind power density in Colombia at different altitudes shows promising magnitudes and good trends.Digital finance plays a crucial role in this context by providing innovative funding mechanisms, enhancing financial accessibility, and reducing investment risks through improved financial technologies. These advancements support the mobilization of capital necessary for the development and expansion of offshore wind energy projects.As a result, the technical, economic, administrative, and legal data pertinent to renewable energy in Colombia is compiled in this study. It proposes to provide information to stakeholders involved in decision-making processes and promotes the possible installation of offshore wind farms in regions close to Colombia's Caribbean coast. Because of its plentiful resources, Colombia offers a great chance to implement offshore wind energy technology, which will lessen dependency on fossil fuels and provide a backup energy source in case of supply shortages. The integration of digital finance is key to unlocking the economic potential of these projects, ensuring sustainable and scalable energy solutions for the future.

Willingness to accept a wind power plant: A survey study in the South of Italy

Public opposition to wind power plants has led to the abandonment of numerous proposed projects. Focusing on a recently proposed project, we test some of the most relevant determinants of community acceptance found in the literature, as well as propose new ones. In 2022, shortly after the public announcement of a new off-shore wind farm installation in a tourist region of Southern Italy, we conducted an in-the-field survey. The survey targeted nearly 1000 individuals at the region's most prominent mass-gathering festival, which attracts both residents and tourists. Our questionnaire is unique in its inclusion of three temporal questions (past, present, future), allowing us to assess how interviewees perceive the seriousness of climate change and how this perception evolves over time. Our findings contradict the NIMBY hypothesis and support the importance of place attachment among both residents and tourists. Additionally, we identify a positive impact of environmental attitudes. Most notably, we highlight the role of climate change perception in the medium term: individuals who express greater concern about climate change in the future compared to the past and present are more likely to accept the project. These findings are validated by another survey that we conducted under similar conditions in 2023.

Technical and economic challenges for floating offshore wind deployment in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea

AbstractOffshore wind is nowadays already well developed in the North European countries. Ninety‐nine percent of the offshore wind turbines are installed on fixed foundations in shallow waters. For areas with water depth greater than 50–60 m, the floating wind is the cheapest and mostly used technology. This technology is going to reach the commercial phase in a few years, thus disclosing the potential of all marine areas with deep waters close to the coast, including the Mediterranean basin. One of the main challenges for floating offshore wind deployment in this area is the achievement of its economic feasibility. The offshore wind resource in the Mediterranean is generally lower than the one in the North Sea and in Oceans and the cost of offshore wind farms, especially with floating technology, is higher than the present offshore wind farm installations also because this industrial sector has not yet started in this area. However, in the Mediterranean area, the potential of offshore wind to contribute to the decarbonization pathway and reduce the dependence on imported fuel supply is substantial. Numerous studies, examined in this article, have already performed a technical‐economic assessment of offshore wind farms in different countries and geographical areas within the basin. A significant number of offshore wind projects are already in different stages of development, confirming the industrial interest and readiness of the Mediterranean offshore wind energy sector. The article provides a comprehensive review of various factors influencing the future deployment of offshore wind in the Mediterranean. It covers a range of topics including technology advancements, resource assessment, wind energy potential, ongoing projects, costs, and economic aspects. Additionally, it discusses environmental sustainability, regulatory frameworks, supply chain logistics, and system integration. The updated review presented in this article could assist decision‐makers and stakeholders in gaining a better understanding of the characteristics of this promising sector and accelerating its development.This article is categorized under: Sustainable Energy > Wind Energy

Assessing the influence of offshore wind turbine noise on seasonal fish chorusing

Abstract Offshore wind farms have recently emerged as a renewable energy solution. However, the long-term impacts of wind turbine noise on fish chorusing phenology are largely unknown. We deployed a hydrophone 10 m from a foremost turbine in Taiwan situated at the Miaoli offshore wind farm (Taiwan Strait) for two years to investigate sound levels and assess the potential influence of turbine noise on seasonal fish chorusing patterns during 2017 and 2018. Wind turbine noise (measured in the 20–250 Hz frequency band) was significantly higher in autumn and winter (mean SPL: 138–143 dB re 1 μPa) and was highly correlated with wind speed (r = 0.76, P < 0.001). During both years, fish chorusing exhibited a consistent trend, that is, beginning in spring, peaking in summer, decreasing in autumn, and absent in winter. Our results show the noise from a single turbine during the two-year monitoring period did not influence the seasonal fish chorusing (r = −0.17, P ≈ 1). Since the offshore wind farm installations are growing in magnitude and capacity across the Taiwan Strait, this study for the first time provides baseline operational sound levels and an understanding of the fish seasonal vocalization behavior at the foremost turbine of the first wind farm in Taiwan. The results presented here provide useful insights for policymakers and constitute a reference starting point for advancing knowledge on the possible effects of wind turbines on fish chorusing in the studied area.

Operationalizing a fisheries social-ecological system through a Bayesian belief network reveals hotspots for its adaptive capacity in the southern North sea

Fisheries social-ecological systems (SES) in the North Sea region confront multifaceted challenges stemming from environmental changes, offshore wind farm expansion, and marine protected area establishment. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of a Bayesian Belief Network (BN) approach in comprehensively capturing and assessing the intricate spatial dynamics within the German plaice-related fisheries SES. The BN integrates ecological, economic, and socio-cultural factors to generate high-resolution maps of profitability and adaptive capacity potential (ACP) as prospective management targets. Our analysis of future scenarios, delineating changes in spatial constraints, economics, and socio-cultural aspects, identifies factors that will exert significant influence on this fisheries SES in the near future. These include the loss of fishing grounds due to the installation of offshore wind farms and marine protected areas, as well as reduced plaice landings due to climate change. The identified ACP hotspots hold the potential to guide the development of localized management strategies and sustainable planning efforts by highlighting the consequences of management decisions. Our findings emphasize the need to consider detailed spatial dynamics of fisheries SES within marine spatial planning (MSP) and illustrate how this information may assist decision-makers and practitioners in area prioritization. We, therefore, propose adopting the concept of fisheries SES within broader integrated management approaches to foster sustainable development of inherently dynamic SES in a rapidly evolving marine environment.

Mesoscale modelling of North Sea wind resources with COSMO-CLM: model evaluation and impact assessment of future wind farm characteristics on cluster-scale wake losses

Abstract. As many coastal regions experience a rapid increase in offshore wind farm installations, inter-farm distances become smaller, with a tendency to install larger turbines at high capacity densities. It is, however, not clear how the wake losses in wind farm clusters depend on the characteristics and spacing of the individual wind farms. Here, we quantify this based on multiple COSMO-CLM simulations, each of which assumes a different, spatially invariant combination of the turbine type and capacity density in a projected, future wind farm layout in the North Sea. An evaluation of the modelled wind climate with mast and lidar data for the period 2008–2020 indicates that the frequency distributions of wind speed and wind direction at turbine hub height are skillfully modelled and the seasonal and inter-annual variations in wind speed are represented well. The wind farm simulations indicate that for a typical capacity density and for SW winds, inter-farm wakes can reduce the capacity factor at the inflow edge of wind farms from 59 % to between 54 % and 30 % depending on the proximity, size and number of the upwind farms. The efficiency losses due to intra- and inter-farm wakes become larger with increasing capacity density as the layout-integrated, annual capacity factor varies between 51.8 % and 38.2 % over the considered range of 3.5 to 10 MW km−2. Also, the simulated efficiency of the wind farm layout is greatly impacted by switching from 5 MW turbines to next-generation, 15 MW turbines, as the annual energy production increases by over 27 % at the same capacity density. In conclusion, our results show that the wake losses in future wind farm clusters are highly sensitive to the inter-farm distances and the capacity densities of the individual wind farms and that the evolution of turbine technology plays a crucial role in offsetting these wake losses.

Feasibility Analysis of Offshore Wind Power Projects in the Caribbean Region of Colombia: A Case Study Using FAHP–GIS

Planning for offshore wind energy projects is intricate due to the consideration of multiple variables in identifying optimal project areas. The primary challenge lies in locating suitable sites, a process that often necessitates extensive feasibility studies spanning several years. The primary goal of this study is to apply the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to prioritize criteria and sub-criteria, facilitating decision-making in choosing appropriate locations for offshore wind projects in the Colombian Caribbean Sea. The weights derived from FAHP were utilized in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to analyze the physical characteristics of the Caribbean Sea’s surface. This tool plays a critical role in evaluating and selecting sites that fulfill established criteria, providing a database of indicators and map visualizations. Four criteria were defined: technical, environmental, social, and economic, along with fourteen sub-criteria, which were prioritized through FAHP based on expert judgment. The results revealed that the most relevant sub-criteria were protected areas and wind speed. Utilizing the ArcGIS Pro software, five zones meeting the predetermined criteria were identified, defining the most feasible areas for offshore wind farm installation, located in the departments of Guajira, Magdalena, Atlántico and Bolívar. The GIS–FAHP methods proved to be useful for feasibility analysis.

Pseudo-3D cubes from densely spaced subbottom profiles via projection onto convex sets interpolation: An open-source workflow applied to a pockmark field

High-resolution subbottom profiler (SBP) data are commonly recorded during academic or industrial surveys and analyzed as 2D profiles. However, there is growing interest in 3D imaging of the shallow seafloor subsurface, e.g., site surveys prior to the installation of offshore wind farms. Despite ongoing advancements in 3D systems, SBPs continue to be used mainly for 2D profiling. In other seismic imaging applications, “pseudo-3D” seismic cubes have been successfully generated from dense 2D seismic surveys. We developed a novel open-source Python-based workflow to interpolate densely spaced 2D SBP profiles acquired with a hull-mounted parametric SBP into pseudo-3D cubes. This workflow is applied to a study area on the Chatham Rise east of New Zealand’s South Island, comprising numerous seafloor pockmarks and subsurface paleo-pockmarks. Our workflow consists of two stages: (1) processing of individual 2D profiles to compensate for existing vertical offsets and (2) sparse data interpolation by applying the iterative projection onto convex sets algorithm. We correct the residual static effect caused by the sea state during acquisition, compensate for the varying tidal elevations, and apply vertical time shifts to individual profiles to correct misties at profile intersections. The interpolation of the binned sparse 3D cube is performed in the frequency domain using the fast Fourier transform and executed in parallel processes, which significantly increases the computational efficiency. We validate our workflow by testing different bin sizes, sparse transforms, thresholding approaches, and varying total iterations, which noticeably impact the resulting interpolation quality. Our developed workflow generates pseudo-3D subsurface images from densely spaced SBP profiles, with numerous potential applications for academic and industrial surveys.

Development of a risk analysis model for the installation of offshore wind farms

The installation of offshore wind farms represents a major driver of offshore wind energy costs due to the high level of associated risks. Substantial cost reduction potential can be realized if these risks are effectively identified and controlled, preventing project delays and financial damages. Therefore, we propose a new method to identify, analyse and evaluate installation risks for use in project planning. This paper provides an in-depth walkthrough of the steps involved in the development of a simulation-based quantitative risk analysis model. At the example of a turbine installation case study, project plan-related risks are identified and quantified by conducting a literature review and expert interviews. The corresponding risk likelihoods and consequences are modelled with probability distributions to simulate their impact on total project duration. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the distribution of results is statistically evaluated to derive the expected project delay caused by the analysed risks as well as reference values for optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. Regarding the underlying model assumptions, the most significant risks (e.g. supply chain failure) are identified and examined in a sensitivity analysis. The developed model can serve as a basis for developing more reliable schedule estimations and contribute to minimizing installation delays and costs.

New developments in heavy plates for offshore structures

AbstractWind energy is one of the most important pillars in the urgently needed transformation to a more renewable and sustainable world. Electricity demands as well as hydrogen demands are growing and therefore more and more wind turbines will be installed on‐ as well as offshore. To the success of wind energy steel is indispensable and especially heavy plates play a crucial role in the production and installation of offshore wind farms, e.g. for the towers, the foundations of bottom‐fixed turbines or for the strongly growing demand of floating offshore wind turbines. New developments in heavy plate production can therefore help fulfilling the demands for new and larger turbines as well as to bring overall construction cost down by improving the fabrication of these structures. These developments can be related to plate dimensions, tougher materials and steel grades with higher strength or the weldability of the steel in use. This paper will include some of these developments for offshore wind turbines as well as offshore wind business in general and will give an overview on their benefits.

Floating offshore wind farms in Mediterranean marine protected areas: a cautionary tale

Abstract As offshore wind energy expands in Europe, maritime planners increasingly need to consider the potential effects of these activities on the different types of marine protected areas (MPAs), including Natura 2000 sites. The aim of this article is to critically review the initial development of offshore wind energy inside and/or in the vicinity of Mediterranean Natura 2000 sites and other types of MPAs. The western Mediterranean Sea is taken as an example as this is where most of the offshore wind developments have been proposed. In order to open up discussion of offshore wind energy policy and guide ecological research that supports holistic decisions regarding offshore wind farm (OWF) installation in the region, we (i) outline the context of Natura 2000 and other MPA policy in the Mediterranean for OWF development, (ii) summarize the potential impacts of OWF on EU-protected habitats and species, (iii) assess the interactions of OWFs, the Natura 2000 sites, and other MPAs, and (iv) propose recommendations to approach OWF development in the Mediterranean in order to safeguard the Natura 2000 sites and other MPAs. After documenting the potential overlaps between OWFs and MPAs in the western Mediterranean, we recommend OWFs be placed outside Natura 2000 and other MPA sites, including their buffer zones. We also advocate for rigorous and independent Appropriate Assessments to be carried out for OWF proposals that could affect protected areas.

Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision for Geoinformation System-Based Offshore Wind Farm Positioning in Croatia

Renewable energy is one of the main components of a sustainable world and its future. The consumption of electricity from renewable sources in Croatia has an impressive rate of 53.5%, but offshore wind turbines (OWT) have not yet been installed in the Adriatic Sea. The aim of this study is to determine the possibilities for offshore wind farm (OWF) positioning in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea using marine spatial planning (MSP). Initial research to determine the points of interest was conducted based on wind speed. The authors established ten possible points for further research. Subsequently, different parameters were used as inputs for exclusion. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used to calculate the weighting coefficients for a suitable set of criteria, exactly six of them. Using a combination of geoinformation system (GIS) analysis and weighting coefficients established through Fuzzy AHP, four points were established as suitable for OWF installation in Croatia. Finally, the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was used to select the best order for OWF positioning in the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea. To conclude, there are not many options for OWF positioning in Croatia. Furthermore, it is clear that they exist and should be explored further.

Reliability of Renewable Power Generation using the Example of Offshore Wind Farms

Abstract Research background The issue of reliability and the cost of failure or maintenance costs of renewable energy sources, including wind farms, is becoming increasingly important, especially as the volume of electricity supply from such installations increases. Purpose The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the development of wind energy in European countries between 2010 and 2020. Evaluating the reliability of wind farm components and ensuring that wind farm infrastructure is available at a high level is crucial to the stability of the electricity supply system. Therefore, the paper presents, as a case study, a reliability estimation of one of the wind farms operating in the North Sea. The analysis is carried out on the basis of empirical data obtained from experts involved in the maintenance of this wind farm. The estimated reliability function is an important reliability indicator for users of this system. On the basis of the evaluated reliability function, for example, the system availability can be improved, and the maintenance costs of the system can be optimised. Research methodology Mathematical modelling was used to analyse system reliability. Further, in the developed reliability models, it was assumed that the system components have the multistate Weibull reliability functions with various parameters in their different reliability state subsets. Novelty Original study with literature review. In the context of the requirements for the transformation of the Polish energy sector, the presented approach can be used in the practical implementation of RES projects, taking into account the reliability of offshore wind farm installations.

Large-scale effects of offshore wind farms on seabirds of high conservation concern

The North Sea is a key area worldwide for the installation of offshore wind farms (OWFs). We analysed data from multiple sources to quantify the effects of OWFs on seabirds from the family Gaviidae (loons) in the German North Sea. The distribution and abundance of loons changed substantially from the period before to the period after OWF construction. Densities of loons were significantly reduced at distances of up to 9–12 km from the OWF footprints. Abundance declined by 94% within the OWF + 1 km zone and by 52% within the OWF + 10 km zone. The observed redistribution was a large-scale effect, with birds aggregating within the study area at large distances from the OWFs. Although renewable energies will be needed to provide a large share of our energy demands in the future, it is necessary to minimize the costs in terms of less-adaptable species, to avoid amplifying the biodiversity crisis.

Ecological effects of offshore wind farms on Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the southern North Sea

Evaluating the ecological effects of the rapid expansion of offshore renewables at local, regional and ecosystem-wide scales is essential to understand the overall socio-ecological trade-offs also for other sectors such as fisheries. Hence, little is known about the ecological impact on demersal fish. To shed light on this topic, we studied the effects of an offshore wind farm in the southern North Sea on different life stages of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) using a combination of sampling methods at varying spatial and temporal scales. Our investigations of diet composition and trophic niches indicate that cod utilizes wind turbine piles with scour protection as feeding grounds. Furthermore, collected information on cod adults and early life stages during winter spawning season suggest that spawning activity occurred in winter across the wider wind farm area. We conclude that wind turbine foundations with a scour protection can function as artificial reefs that have local positive effects on the resilience of local cod populations. With our study we contribute to urgently needed observational evidence regarding the ecological impact of offshore wind farm installations to inform area-based management and future monitoring activities.

Derisking Offshore Windfarm Installation by Sub-Seafloor Boulder Detection Based on Dedicated Seismic Diffraction Imaging

In order to confront climate change and reach the ambitious goals set at COP 26, established renewable energy sources like wind and solar need to expand to new frontiers. For wind, the transition to offshore environments poses unique opportunities and challenges. While offshore wind farms promise more energy efficiency, their construction demands larger investments in foundations and infrastructure. Glacial movement that transported material over the various epochs has resulted in a liberal distribution of problematic boulders in exactly the kind of areas now proving ideal for the deployment of wind farm technology. This is especially evident in large stretches of the Baltic, North Sea and North Atlantic on the east coast of North America where boulders, carried south through glacial movements during the ice ages, pose significant hazards for the construction of new offshore infrastructure. To be able to carry out subsea construction work with reduced risk, a novel ultra-high-resolution (UHR) seismic measurement system has been developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, Bremen, Germany, and the University of Bremen, Germany. The Manta Ray G1 that has been developed is specifically designed to detect and localize these small-scale objects in marine sediments with high accuracy using seismic diffraction imaging. As these boulders pose an obvious problem for the construction work it is the ability of the system to commit to dedicated object detection, e.g., for glacial boulders, integrated into a detailed ground model of the uppermost section of the subseafloor in challenging shallow-water regimes that offers a highly advantageous solution to the problem. The system uses a unique new survey methodology for the de-risking of offshore construction sites.

Convolutional Neural Network for Wind Turbine Failure Classification Based on SCADA Data

As a renewable energy source and an alternative to fossil fuels, the wind power industry is growing rapidly. However, due to harsh weather conditions, wind turbines (WT) still face many failures that raise the price of energy produced and reduce the reliability of wind energy. Hence, the use of reliable monitoring and diagnostic systems of WTs is of great importance. Operation and maintenance expenses represent 30% of the total cost of large wind farms. The installation of offshore and remote wind farms has increased the need for efficient fault detection and condition monitoring systems. In this work, without using specific custom devices for monitoring conditions, but only increasing the sampling frequency in the sensors already available (in all commercial WT) of the supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA), datadriven multiple fault detection is performed, and a classification strategy is developed. The data is processed, and subsequently, using a convolutional neural network (CNN), six faults are classified and evaluated with different metrics. Finally, it should be noted that the classification speed allows the implementation of this strategy to monitor conditions online in real under-production WTs.

A computer tool for optimisation and simulation of marine operations for offshore wind farm installation

The installation process of offshore wind farms is complex and requires a high level of coordination, agile scheduling and systematic methods. High risks and costs are involved and especially weather conditions have an impact on the marine operations. A computer tool for optimisation and simulation of marine operations has been developed in close cooperation with a large actor in the offshore wind industry. The tool has a web-based user interface and an optimisation engine that is based on a version of a genetic algorithm and uses an agent-based simulation process to evaluate installation schedules with respect to weather risks, time and costs. The objective is to provide decision support for the early phase planning of wind farm installation by offering an efficient method for estimation of cost and time for future projects.

Dynamic Modeling of an Offshore Floating Wind Turbine for Application in the Mediterranean Sea

Wind power is emerging as one of the most sustainable and low-cost options for energy production. Far-offshore floating wind turbines are attractive in view of exploiting high wind availability sites while minimizing environmental and landscape impact. In the last few years, some offshore floating wind farms were deployed in Northern Europe for technology validation, with very promising results. At present time, however, no offshore wind farm installations have been developed in the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this work is to comprehensively model an offshore floating wind turbine and examine the behavior resulting from a wide spectrum of sea and wind states typical of the Mediterranean Sea. The flexible and accessible in-house model developed for this purpose is compared with the reference model FAST v8.16 for verifying its reliability. Then, a simulation campaign is carried out to estimate the wind turbine LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy). Based on this, the best substructure is chosen and the convenience of the investment is evaluated.