Floating offshore wind moorings

Building on Solid Foundations

Recent increases in energy costs combined with environmental concerns have furthered the interest in commercial wind power.

Wind power has a long history dating back thousands of years. However, the modern era of wind power began in the late 19th century with the invention of wind turbines. In 1887, Professor James Blyth built and installed a wind turbine to supply electricity to his cottage in Scotland. This was the earliest documented example of a wind turbine used for generating electricity.

Over 100 years later, in 1991, one of the first offshore wind farms, Vindeby, was commissioned off the coast of Denmark. Consisting of 11 wind turbines the farm produced a total capacity of 4.95MW. The water depths at Vindeby farm site were less than 10m, therefore the project utilised fixed-bottom foundations.

As offshore wind technology advanced, farms have been constructed in deeper waters. However, as was found in the oil and gas industry as water depths increase, traditional fixed-bottom foundations become less feasible. A key factor being an increase in cost and complexity in the construction of the foundations.