Fixed Offshore Wind

Capturing energy from offshore wind with bottom-mounted foundations.

Offshore wind energy technologies harness kinetic energy from the wind to generate energy and transport that energy back to shore via a subsea export cable. The main advantage of offshore wind energy is access to stronger and more consistent winds, allowing for the use of larger turbines. The development of offshore wind in Europe and Asia has preceded development activities in other parts of the world; however, several projects in the United States are currently underway.

There are different types of offshore wind turbine foundation on which the turbine can be installed, depending on the depth and substrate. Gravity foundations are used at shallow depths (0-30m) and consist of large, steel or concrete bases that rest on the seabed. Suction bucket foundations are also made from steel or concrete, and are installed using the pressure difference generated between the inside of the bucket and the water surrounding it (without any use of mechanical force). Monopile foundations are used at shallow depths (0-30 m) and consist of a pile that is driven into the seabed. Monopiles are typically less costly than other foundation types and are the most commonly used. Tripod fixed bottom foundations are used at transitional depths (20-80m) and consist of three legs connecting to a central shaft that supports the turbine base. Each leg has a pile driven into the seabed, which creates a wide foundation that allows for the piles to be placed at a shallower depth in the seabed than monopile foundations. Jacket foundations are also used at transitional depths (20-80m) and feature a lattice framework that comprises three to four anchoring points driven into the seafloor.

The environmental concerns associated with offshore wind farms vary with foundation type. Monopiles, for example, require pile-driving, which produces incredibly loud noises that tend to propagate far in the water, even after mitigation strategies such as bubble shields, slow start, and acoustic cladding are employed. Collision risk with birds and bats is a major concern, though the impact is more difficult to quantify offshore because carcasses that provide evidence of collisions become lost at sea. While the footprint of offshore wind energy is relatively small, it may still cause scouring and changes to sediment transport. As with all electricity generation, there is a slight concern that electromagnetic fields generated by power cables may affect animals that use Earth's natural magnetic field for orientation, navigation, and hunting. Artificial reefing is likely to occur around wind farms as the new hard substrate provides protection and attracts colonizing invertebrates and fish.

Affiliated Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Total results: 3120
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Introduction of New Offshore Wind Farm Structures: Effects on Fish Ecology SEER Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish
Spatialized ecological network analysis for ecosystem-based management: effects of climate change, marine renewable energy, and fishing on ecosystem functioning in the Bay of Seine Noguès, Q., Araignous, E., Bourdaud, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
2022 Pacific Seabird Group 49th Annual Meeting. 22 - 25 February 2022 Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Tracking lesser black-backed and herring gulls in the Dutch Delta Vanermen, N., Fijn, R., Rebolledo, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision Birds, Seabirds
Offshore wind farm effects on flounder and gadid dietary habits and condition on the northeastern US coast Wilber, D., Brown, L., Griffin, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Physical Environment
Seafloor Disturbance and Recovery Monitoring at the Block Island Wind Farm, Rhode Island: Summary Report (Year 6) Olsen, K., Erickson, R., Hughes, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment
A risk-based method to prioritize cumulative impacts assessment on marine biodiversity and research policy for offshore wind farms in France Brignon, J., Lejart, M., Nexer, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Engaged minority or quiet majority? Social intentions and actions related to offshore wind energy development in the United States Fleming, C., Gonyo, S., Freitag, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Revolution Wind COP Appendix Z3: Protected Species Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (PSMMP): Marine Mammals Revolution Wind, LLC Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Marine Mammals
Supporting National Environmental Policy Act Documentation for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Development Related to Microclimates Middleton, P., Barnhart, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow Physical Environment
Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II N2 - Avian Monitoring Plan Normandeau Associates Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Bats
Riding the wave: Challenges and opportunities for marine renewable energies in Canada’s energy transition Forrest, D., Li, X., Aviles, M. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Cumulative population-level effects of habitat loss on seabirds 'Kader Ecologie en Cumulatie 4.0' Soudijn, F., van Donk, S., Leopold, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
Life cycle assessment of floating offshore wind farms: An evaluation of operation and maintenance Garcia-Teruel, A., Rinaldi, G., Thies, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Application of Monte Carlo and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Processes for ranking floating wind farm locations Díaz, H., Teixeira, A., Soares, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Birds, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Recreation & Tourism
Supporting National Environmental Policy Act Documentation for Offshore Wind Energy Development Related to Decommissioning Offshore Wind Facilities Fernandez, K., Middleton, P., Salerno, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Recommended metrics for quantifying underwater noise impacts on North Atlantic right whales Marotte, E., Wright, A., Breeze, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
It Is a Balancing Act: The Interface of Scientific Evidence and Policy in Support of Effective Marine Environmental Management Lonsdale, J., Gill, A., Alliji, K. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Effects of pile driving sound on local movement of free-ranging Atlantic cod in the Belgian North Sea Auteurs van der Knaap, I., Slabbekoorn, H., Moens, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Fish
Use of Our Future Seas: Relevance of Spatial and Temporal Scale for Physical and Biological Indicators Trifonova, N., Scott, B., De Dominicis, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Landscape Decisions to Meet Net Zero Carbon: Pathways that consider ethics, socio-ecological diversity, and landscape functions. Landscape Decisions Report Cole, B., Gardner, E., Willcock, S. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds
North American Tree Bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) Migration on the Mid-Atlantic Coast—Implications and Discussion for Current and Future Offshore Wind Development True, M. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Bats
South Fork Wind: Conditions of Construction and Operations Plan Approval Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Impacts of offshore wind farms on the atmospheric environment over Taiwan Strait during an extreme weather typhoon event Lee, T-Y., Wu, Y-T., Kueh, M-T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow
Life cycle assessment of the use of decommissioned wind blades in second life applications Nagle, A., Mullally, G., Leahy, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
A methodological framework for optimal siting of offshore wind farms: A case study on the island of Crete Gkeka-Serpetsidaki, P., Tsoutsos, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Human Dimensions
Weakly Supervised Detection of Marine Animals in High Resolution Aerial Images Berg, P., Maia, D., Pham, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Marine Mammals
Offshore wind energy development: Research priorities for sound and vibration effects on fishes and aquatic invertebrates Popper, A., Hice-Dunton, L., Jenkins, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Invertebrates
What’s in My Toolkit? A Review of Technologies for Assessing Changes in Habitats Caused by Marine Energy Development Hemery, L., Mackereth, K., Tugade, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change
Underwater Noise Effects on Marine Life Associated with Offshore Wind Farms SEER Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Optimizing Shellfish Aquaculture for Multi-Use Spaces Within Offshore Wind Farms in the Dutch North Sea Paulson, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Sampling hard substrates in Dutch offshore: Work plan towards an offshore wind farm hard substrate sampling & monitoring programme in the Netherlands Coolen, J., Wijnhoven, S., Bergsma, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
On the radar: Weather, bird migration and aeroconservation over the North Sea Bradaric, M. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds
Wind energy and its link to sustainability in developing countries Kabir, M., Sree, N., Khatod, K. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Environmental Studies Program: Studies Development Plan 2022-2023 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals
Wind and Fisheries: Desktop Study on the Coexistence Between Offshore Wind and Fisheries in Southern North Sea II Austrheim, E., Dahlgren, T., Handberg, O. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data
Marine Renewable Energy in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: International Regulation and Legal Challenges Melnychenko, M. Thesis Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme: Annual Report 2021 The Crown Estate Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy
Framework for Assessing Ecological and Cumulative Effects 2021(KEC 4.0) – marine mammals Heinis, F., de Jong, C., von Benda-Beckmann, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Current challenges and prospects of wind energy in Belarus Novikau, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Displaying 681 - 720 of 3120 results