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: 3097
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Compensatory Mitigation for Offshore Wind Baker, K. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
A Review of the Sustainable Siting of Offshore Wind Farms Gkeka-Serpetsidaki, P., Skiniti, G., Tournaki, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Offshore Wind Energy Development and Compensatory Mitigation in the Northeast Region Vail-Muse, S. Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
A comprehensive review on scour and scour protections for complex bottom-fixed offshore and marine renewable energy foundations Chambel, J., Fazeres-Ferradosa, T., Miranda, F. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment
Realizing the Potential of eDNA Biodiversity Monitoring Tools in the Marine Environment with Application to Offshore Renewable Energy Sepulveda, A., Morrison, C., Hunter, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles
Strong site fidelity, residency and local behaviour of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) at two types of artificial reefs in an offshore wind farm Berges, B., van der Knaap, I., van Keeken, O. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction Fish
Underwater Sound Modelling and Sound Mapping in Vibratory Pile Driving Peng, Y., Tsetas, A., Molenkamp, T. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
SCRAM 2: Transparent Modeling of Collision Risk for Three Federally Listed Bird Species in Relation to Offshore Wind Energy Development Goyert, H., Adams, A., Gilbert, A. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Environmental DNA for monitoring the impact of offshore wind farms on fish and invertebrate community structures Cornelis, I., De Backer, A., Maes, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Invertebrates
Sailing through end-of-life challenges: A comprehensive review for offshore wind Vetters, J., Thomassen, G., Van Passel, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Framing the Wind: Media Coverage of Offshore Wind in the Northeastern United States Diamond, E., Damato, N., Bidwell, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Effects of the Block Island Wind Farm on Benthic and Epifaunal Communities Fonseca, M., McMahon, A., Erickson, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Invertebrates
Assessing environmental impacts of offshore wind farms: lessons learned and recommendations for the future [E3S] Rahman, F., Kumar, P. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Chemicals, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment
Resource monitoring for Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) at the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind development site Rudders, D., Mann, R., Borsetti, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Global Offshore Wind Report 2024 Williams, R., Zhao, F. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Integrated Environmental & Social Sensitivity Mapping: Guidance for Early Offshore Wind Spatial Planning World Bank Group Guidance Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Recreation & Tourism
Distribution models of baleen whale species in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone to inform management and conservation Blazquez, M., Whooley, P., Massett, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on physical processes and scallop larval dispersal over the US Northeast shelf Chen, C., Zhao, L., Lin, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Invertebrates
The effect of moral framing on attitudes towards offshore wind farms in Turkey Goral, E., Hannum, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Social & Economic Data
Noise pollution causes parental stress on marine invertebrates, the Giant scallop example Gigot, M, Tremblay, R., Bonnel, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Invertebrates
France Energies Marines Annual Report 2023 France Energies Marines Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Forecasting nocturnal bird migration for dynamic aeroconservation: The value of short-term datasets Bradaric, M., Kranstauber, B., Bouten, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Birds
Guardians of the seabed: Nature-inclusive design of scour protection in offshore wind farms enhances benthic diversity Kingma, E., ter Hofstede, R., Kardinaal, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Invertebrates
Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind South Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Commercial Wind Lease OCS-A 0499 Sullivan, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Evaluating drivers of recent large whale strandings on the East Coast of the United States Thorne, L., Wiley, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Experience report on operational noise: Cross-project evaluation and assessment of underwater noise measurements from the operational phase of offshore wind farms Bellmann, M., Müller, T., Scheiblich, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Input from workshop on bat fatalities from offshore wind Royal Haskoning Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Bats
Fisheries independent surveys in a new era of offshore wind energy development Lipsky, A., Silva, A., Gilmour, F. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Environmental impacts from large-scale offshore renewable-energy deployment Ouro, P., Fernandez, R., Armstrong, A. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
An analytical strategy for challenging members of the microplastic family: Particles from anti-corrosion coatings Hildebrandt, L., Fischer, M., Klein, O. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Chemicals Physical Environment, Water Quality
Answering the key stakeholder questions about the impact of offshore wind farms on marine life using hypothesis testing to inform targeted monitoring Cresci, A., Degraer, S., Zhang, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Assessing the influence of offshore wind turbine noise on seasonal fish chorusing Siddagangaiah, S., Chen, C-F., Hu, W-C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind: Double Big Bubble Curtain Plan Dominion Energy Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
A framework for studying the effects of offshore wind energy development on birds and bats in the Eastern United States Williams, K., Gulka, J., Cook, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement Bats, Birds
Final Environmental Assessment for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Beacon Wind, LLC’s Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0527 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Using a Mechanical Whale to Test Automatic Whale Blow Detection with Applications to Offshore Wind Development Eaton, R., Prisco, J., Everson, J. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Coastal and offshore movements of Nathusius' pipistrelle during autumn migration Lagerveld, S., de Vries, P., Noort, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision Bats
Decommissioning Case Study: Circular Economy in the Wind Sector – Materials Mapping Smithson-Paul, V., Bennet, L., Fraser, O. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Will wind development adversely impact North Atlantic right whales through an increase in vessel traffic? Bishop, A. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
A new method for quantifying redistribution of seabirds within operational offshore wind farms finds no evidence of within-wind farm displacement Trinder, M., O'Brien, S., Deimel, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Displacement Seabirds
Displaying 121 - 160 of 3097 results