GENERIC REVIEW ON OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY PROSPECTS

Civil Engineering

This paper provides an overview of the nascent offshore wind energy industry including a status of the commercial offshore industry and the technologies that will be needed for full market development. It provides a perspective on the status of the critical environmental and regulatory issues for offshore wind and how they are affecting the formation of the U.S. industry. The rationale provided describes why offshore wind has the potential to become a major component of the national electric energy supply. Future projections show this potential could result in over $100 billion of revenue to the offshore industry over the next 30 years in the construction and operation of offshore wind turbines and the infrastructure needed to support them. The paper covers technical issues and design challenges needed to achieve economic competitiveness for near term deployments in shallow water below 30-m depth. It also examines the requirements for future technologies needed to deploy systems in deeper water beyond the current depth limits. Although most studies to date indicate very low impacts to the environment, regulatory and environmental barriers have hindered the first offshore wind projects in the United States. A summary of these issues is given.

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