Overview
The final project design has not yet been determined and is will be developed through understanding seabed conditions, engineering studies and environmental impacts assessed. Floating technology has some key elements which are outlined below.
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Installation
One of the advantages with floating offshore wind is the capacity for the complete wind turbine and substructure assembly to be towed to site where it is hooked up to the pre-installed mooring system which allows it to be installed much quicker than fixed bottom turbines that require calmer seas and wind conditions during installation.
Subsea Cables
A key design difference between a fixed bottom and floating turbine is the dynamic nature of the cables. The cable system must accommodate the movement of the floating substructure. This is typically achieved by adding a buoyancy element into the design.
Anchors
The key difference between floating and fixed bottom offshore wind is the use of floating substructures which are connected to the seabed using mooring lines and anchors or piles.
Floating Substructures
Currently there are over 40 floating wind turbine generators (WTGs) structure concepts at varying stages of development in the industry. Each has varying dimensions to meet the unique engineering challenges associated with floating turbines, turbine sizes and project specific requirements.
Mooring and Anchors
The mooring and anchoring systems are responsible for maintaining the position of the floating wind turbine generators (WTGs) during the most extreme events or energetic storms. There are a number of different anchoring solutions available which can be deployed depending on the site conditions.
