Chapter 4

Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

4.1 Introduction

In this chapter, a perspective of floating offshore wind technology, applied con-

cepts, and related statistics are given. Floating wind turbines are recently appeared
in the offshore wind market. There is no wind park based on floating structures
until now. However, some wind parks are planned to be constructed in near future.
Several scaled units are installed. Some examples of commissioned floating wind
turbines are discussed in this chapter.
When the water depth increases, the cost associated with bottom-fixed concepts
increases rapidly. Some concepts like monopile and gravity-based structures are
more affected by depth increase. The other concepts like jackets came to picture to
answer the need of harvesting energy in deeper water. However, in practice, the cost
of application of them will not guaranty the low cost of produced electricity. Hence,
offshore wind technology started to explore the feasibility of application of floating
wind turbine units in deep waters, e.g., 150 m. Figure 4.1 illustrates the rated-power
relation with water depth for different concepts, floating versus fixed wind turbines.

4.2 Floating Offshore Wind Projects

Among the support structures, floating structures are less used. However, they will
become more popular as the industry explores offshore sites with larger water depth.
When the water depth increases, the cost of using bottom-fixed turbines increases
rapidly. There are several debates and researches around the world to identify the
transition depth when floating platforms are economical with respect to the bottom-
fixed turbines. The transition depth is in the order of 50–100 m. Depending on the
type of floater and site specification, the transition depth can be influenced, and a
floating concept can be feasible or not for a defined depth. However, it is clear that
when the water depth is more than 100 m, the floating concepts are likely the most
cost-effective solutions.

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014 53

M. Karimirad, Offshore Energy Structures, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12175-8_4
54 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Fig. 4.1   Rated power versus water depth for different concepts, floating and fixed wind turbine
concepts

There are several types of floating wind turbines inspired from offshore oil and
gas industry. Most of these concepts are in the feasibility study phase or scaled wind
turbine test. Model tests in ocean basins and hydrodynamic laboratories have been
conducted for some concepts. Numerical simulations and benchmarking to study
the concepts and developing proper analytical codes were extensively performed
during the past years.
Different joint research projects had been carried out by participating scientists
and researchers around the world, among them, European, Asian, and American
partners were deeply involved. All these points highlight the importance of floating
structures in future offshore wind business.
Currently, around 32 floating offshore projects are active globally. Semisub-
mersible is the most popular at the moment, and more than 13 projects are applying
semisubmersible as the base floater (Fig. 4.2).
In Table 4.1, three floating offshore wind turbines installed with turbine-rated
power higher than 1 MW are listed. In the coming sections, these floating offshore
wind projects are discussed in detail. There are several research concepts and small-
scaled floating turbines installed, which will be discussed later.

4.3 Hywind Project

Hywind is the world’s first full-scale floating wind turbine, see Fig. 4.3. In 2009,
Statoil accomplished launching of new technology: floating wind technology, see
Table 4.2 for more information. Several attempts for proposing and studying the
4.3 Hywind Project 55

Fig. 4.2   Floating offshore wind projects sorted based on the support-structure concept. TLP ten-
sion-leg platform

Table 4.1   Floating offshore wind turbines (examples of MW turbines)

Name Country Installed capacity (MW) Turbine model Structure
WindFloat Portugal 2 Vestas Semisubmersible
V80-2.0 MW (3 columns)
Fukushima Japan 2 Subaru 80/2.0 Semisubmersible
(4 columns)
Hywind Norway 2.3 Siemens SWT- Spar
2.3-82 VS

Fig. 4.3   Hywind, spar-type

wind turbine. (Courtesy
of Vines 2009; this file is
licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0
Unported license)
56 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Table 4.2   Hywind project characteristics. (statoil.com 2012; Lorc 2011; nexans.com; Technip
2009)
Status Commissioned in 2009
Location Karmøy Island, Norway (installed in the North Sea)
Distance from shore 10 km
Testing period Originally for 2 years, but it is extended
Installer turbine/spar/cable Aker solutions/Technip/Nexans
Turbine size 2.3 MW
Turbine weight 138 t
Turbine height 65 m
Rotor diameter 82.4 m
Draft hull 100 m
Displacement 5300 m3
Diameter at water line 6m
Diam. submerged body 8.3 m
Water depths 200 m
Mooring Three sets of lines

feasibility of floating wind turbines and their behavior under wave and wind actions
had been made by scientists around the world before Hywind installation. Hywind
is a spar-type floating wind turbine using a spar platform as the base. The platform
is moored to the seabed using catenary mooring. Three mooring sets have been used
for station keeping. The turbine tower is located at the top of the spar. In principle,
spar is a circular cylinder, a buoy, which is ballasted using water and rock.
Spar concept has been widely used in offshore oil/gas technology. It is a proven
concept working well. Technip has good experience in design and construction of
spar platforms. Technip was the main contractor for the structural parts of Hywind.
Technip designed, constructed, and delivered the spar. Turbine manufacturer was
Siemens wind power. Siemens SWT-2.3-82 VS turbine with rated power of 2.3 MW
was bought and mounted over the spar. Turbine characteristics are listed in Table 4.4.
The known wind and marine technologies were combined in a new setting for float-
ing wind turbines. This was a good attempt to open up the possibility for capturing
wind energy in deep water environments. Statoil, a leading offshore oil/gas opera-
tor, used its valuable experience to develop Hywind as the first full scale offshore
floating wind turbine. Hywind demo project aimed to discover the challenges for
this new technology to enhance the development of knowledge needed.
The floating part consists of a steel cylinder filled with a ballast of water and
rocks. Draft of spar is around 100 m, and the spar is moored using spread catenary
mooring. The intention of the demo project is to find the behavior of the spar-type
wind turbine under the action of wave and wind in real life. Hence, survivability and
structural strength are monitored. Power generation and its deficit due to the action
of waves and platform motions are the other aspects of this project. The next gen-
eration of Hywind may have improvements based on the lessons gained. The goal
4.4 WindFloat Project 57

Table 4.3   Annual power production of Hywind. (The-Hywind-O&M-Team 2012)

Year Annual production (GWh) Capacity factor
2012 7.5 0.37
2011 10.1 0.50
2010 7.4 0.36

is to commercialize the concept by reducing costs, so that floating wind power can
compete in the energy market (statoil.com 2009). The Hywind concept is designed
for deep water; Japan, the USA, and the UK can be nominated regions, which have
deep water areas (Next step can be a wind park of 3–5 turbines). Hywind Scotland
pilot park project consists of 30 MW with five turbines each of which will be up
to 5–6 MW in size. The project is planned to be completed by 2016–2017 (xodus-
group.com 2013).
Statoil invested around NOK 400 million in the construction and further devel-
opment of the pilot project and in research and development related to the wind
turbine concept. After more than 2 years of operation, the concept had been verified,
and its performance was beyond expectations. With few operational challenges,
excellent production output, and well-functioning technical systems, the Hywind
concept could revolutionize the future of offshore wind (statoil.com 2009).
Annual estimated production of Hywind is 7.9 GWh per year which corresponds
7.9 GWh
to capacity factor of 39; CF = = 0.39 . The Hywind produc-
2.3 MW × 365 × 24 h
tion in the past years is listed in Table 4.3.
Operating voltage level is 22 kV; Nexans 24 kV exporting cable with the length
of 13.6 km is used and power frequency at onshore is 50 Hz (nexans.com). Tur-
bine characteristics are listed in Table 4.4. The tower is mounted at the top of the
spar platform by bolting at the flange. The spar has a deep draft and it is stabilized
by ballasting. The mooring lines are attached to fairleads below mean water sur-
face and keep the structure. The mooring lines are catenary and spread around the
spar. The other end of the mooring lines is connected to seabed. This setting allows
slowly varying motions such as slowly varying surge and sway responses. More
discussion regarding spar-type wind turbines aspects are given later in this chapter.

4.4 WindFloat Project

WindFloat is a semisubmersible type floating offshore wind turbine. The name of

the project is Demowfloat, which is supported by FP7 of the European Commis-
sion and gathers 12 entities of five different countries. The goal is to test and moni-
tor the performance of WindFloat. The WindFloat concept is designed for deep
water more than 40–50 m for harnessing offshore wind power. The prototype proj-
ect is located 6 km offshore Portugal, at a depth of about 42 m (demowfloat.eu).
58 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Table 4.4   Hywind turbine characteristics (siemens.com 2009b; Lorc 2011a; siemens.com 2009)
Turbine model Siemens SWT-2.3-82 VS
Rated power 2.3 MW
Wind class IEC IA
Cut-in wind speed 4 m/s
Rated wind speed 13.5 m/s
Cut-out wind speed 25 m/s
Rotor type 3-bladed, horizontal axis
Rotor position Upwind
Rotor diameter 82.4 m
Rotor area 5333 m2
Rotor speed (minimum) 6 rpm
Rotor speed (rated) 18 rpm
Rotor weight (incl. hub) 55 t
Hub height (above MSL) 65 m
Blade tip speed (rated) 77.66 m/s
Blade length 40 m
Blade root chord 3.1 m
Blade tip chord 0.8 m
Power regulation Pitch regulated with variable speed (hydraulic)
Drivetrain type High speed
Main bearing Spherical roller bearing
Gearbox ratio 0.010989
Gearbox stages 3 planetary stages, 1 helical stage
Gearbox lubrication Splash/forced lubrication
Generator type Asynchronous
Generator rated power 2300 kW
Power frequency 50 Hz
Turbine voltage level 690 V
Transformer voltage level 22 kV
Nacelle weight 83 t

The turbine is commissioned and is already in operation since December 2011.

WindFloat is a semisubmersible type wind turbine with three main columns. The
platform consists of three columns that provide buoyancy to support the turbine.
The columns are separated from each other to provide stability by increasing the
metacentric height. The columns are connected by braces to each other, and the
turbine is located above one of the columns. Some characteristics of the installed
turbine are mentioned below:
The aim of the Demowfloat project is to study a semisubmersible floating wind
turbine called WindFloat, see Fig. 4.4. The structural integrity and the performance
4.4 WindFloat Project 59

Fig. 4.4   WindFloat, a semisubmersible type floating offshore wind turbine foundation operating
at the rated capacity (2 MW) approximately 5 km offshore of Agucadoura, Portugal. (Source:
commons.wikimedia.org (Untrakdrover 2012); this file is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

of the system are monitored. The operationality, maintainability, reliability, platform

accessibility, feasible grid integration on a modular basis, and other aspects are
considered to assess the cost of produced energy from this floating offshore wind
turbine. This is the start of a wind farm based on semisubmersible type support
structure (demowfloat.eu). The wind turbine is the commercial Vestas model V80-
2.0 MW, which has already been tested for onshore and offshore environments.
The structure is anchored to the seabed by four mooring lines made of conventional
components (Table 4.5).

Table 4.5   Characteristics of Displacement 2750 t

WindFloat. (Vidigal 2012)
Ballast 1200 t
Draft 13.7 m
Freeboard 9.5 m
Tower 54 m
Nacelle height above MWS 63.5 m
Distance between columns 38 m
Column diameter 8m
Rated power 2 MW
Rotor diameter 80 m
60 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

WindFloat is originated in a company called PrinciplePower (principlepower-

inc.com). This concept is suitable for intermediate (> 40 m) and deep-water depth
offshore wind energy market. The term “deep” in offshore wind refers to water
depth more than 100 m. However, traditionally, in offshore oil/gas business “deep”
refers to much more depth, e.g., 300 m.
In WindFloat, damping plates at the bottom of the columns are set to damp mo-
tions, especially in heave motion. However, the capability and performance of such
design should be investigated, thoroughly, keeping in mind the added mass effects
of the damping plates. Heavy lifting is avoided in WindFloat as it is commissioned
before transportation. This is the advantage of semisubmersible wind turbine and
they could be wet towed to the site.
WindFloat has a closed-loop hull trim system that mitigates the effect of mean
wind-induced thrust forces. Hence, it has an active ballasting together with static
ballasting. This system helps optimizing energy production considering the changes
in wind velocity and direction (principlepowerinc.com). However, the performance
and reliability of such controlled system should be checked as well.
Four mooring lines are used, two are attached to the column which is supporting
the turbine, and the other two are attached to the other column. WindFloat employs
conventional mooring components such as chain and polyester lines to minimize
the cost and complexity. Through the use of pre-laid drag-embedded anchors, site
preparation is minimized (principlepowerinc.com).
WindFloat project in Portugal has three phases, 2, 27, and 150 MW. The first
phase is accomplished, and the turbine is operating (EDP 2012). The second phase
is a pre-commercial phase consisting of 3–5 turbines (Maciel 2010). The third com-
mercial stage consists of approximately 30 wind turbines with the rotor diameter of
120–150 m and total height of 160–175 m (4C-Offshore, 2013).

4.5 Fukushima Project

After nuclear disaster in Japan due to Tsunami in 2011, it was decided to shutdown
the nuclear power plants. The government supported a consortium called Fuku-
shima offshore wind to develop offshore wind power based on floating support
structures, see Table 4.6.
Fukushima offshore wind consortium, see Table 4.7, which consists of Maru-
beni Corporation (project integrator), the University of Tokyo (technical advisor),
Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan Marine United Corpo-
ration, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Cor-
poration Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Shimizu Corporation and
Mizuho information & Research, is proceeding with Fukushima floating offshore
wind farm demonstration project (Fukushima FORWARD) funded by the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry since 2012 (marubeni.com 2013).
Fukushima project has two stages (fukushima-forward.jp, Fukushima FOR-
WARD) in which three floating wind turbines (two semisubmersibles and one spar)
4.5 Fukushima Project 61

Table 4.6   Fukushima FORWARD project phases. (marubeni.com 2013)

Fukushima Facility name Scale Form Floating form
FORWARD
Phase I Floating Substation 25 MVA Substation (with 66 kV Advanced spar
(2011–2013) “Fukushima high-voltage undersea
Kizuna” cable)
Floating Wind 2 MW Downwind type 4 column
Turbine Semisubmersible
“Fukushima Mirai”
Phase II Large Floating Wind 7 MW Oil pressure drive type 3 column
(2014–2015) Turbine (Hydraulic turbine) Semisubmersible
“Fukushima
Shimpuu”
Large Floating Wind 7 MW Oil pressure drive type Advanced spar
Turbine (Hydraulic turbine)

Table 4.7   The role of each member in the Fukushima FORWARD consortium (fukushima-for-
ward.jp, Fukushima FORWARD)
FORWARD member Main role
Marubeni Corporation Feasibility study, approval and licensing, O &
M, collaboration with fishery industry
The University of Tokyo Metocean measurement and prediction
technology, marine navigation safety, public
relation
Mitsubishi Corporation Coordination for grid integration, environ-
mental impact assessment
Mitsubishi Heavy industries Ltd. V-shape semisubmersible (7 MW)
Japan Marine United Corporation Advanced spar-type floating substation
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Compact semisubmersible (2 MW)
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Advanced steel material
Hitachi Ltd. Floating substation
Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. Large capacity undersea cable
Shimizu Corporation Pre-survey of ocean area, construction
technology
Mizuho Information & Research institute, Inc Documentation, committee operation

and one spar-type floating power substation will be installed off the coast of Fuku-
shima. The first phase of the project consists of one 2 MW semisubmersible-type
floating wind turbine, the world’s first 25 MVA spar-type floating substation, and
66 kV undersea cables.
In November 2013, it was announced that the first phase of the project has been
successfully accomplished. Installation of 2 MW downwind-type semisubmers-
ible wind turbine, 25 MVA spar-type power substation, 66 kV extra-high voltage
undersea cables, and the dynamic cable was successfully completed (marubeni.
62 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Fig. 4.5   Schematic layout of 2 MW Fukushima semisubmersible wind turbine (fukushima-for-

ward.jp, Fukushima FORWARD)
4.5 Fukushima Project 63

com, 2013). The installed 2 MW turbine is a 4-column semisubmersible in which

the central column carries the turbine, see Fig. 4.5. It is so-called “compact”
semisubmersible in which braces are increasing the structural integrity. The substa-
tion is based on an “advanced” spar floater, see Fig. 4.6.

Fig. 4.6   Schematic layout of Fukushima advanced spar-type floating wind turbine. Mean Water
Level Surface (MWLS ) (fukushima-forward.jp, Fukushima FORWARD)
64 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

One aspect of having the floating substation is to collect the meteorological and
hydrographic data. The metocean measurement system considers the floater mo-
tion compensation. The performance of the semisubmersible turbine is studied to
evaluate safety, reliability, and the economic potential of the offshore floating wind
farm. In addition, the project aims at establishing the method of operation and main-
tenance of the offshore floating wind farm at the same time.
In the second phase, the two units of 7 MW oil pressure drive-type floating
wind turbines will be installed within the fiscal year 2014. One of the turbines is
supported by the spar platform, and the other one is based on semisubmersible. An
advanced spar and a braceless semisubmersible (V-shaped with three columns)
will be applied. Hence, the total capacity of the offshore floating wind farm at
Fukushima will be 16 MW all together (two 7 MW and one 2 MW), making it the
world’s biggest floating offshore wind farm (fukushima-forward.jp, Fukushima
FORWARD)(fukushima-forward.jp, Fukushima FORWARD). In compact semi-
submersible, the mooring system has six pieces catenary mooring lines, and in
V-shaped semisubmersible, the mooring system has eight pieces catenary moor-
ing lines.

4.6 Floating Wind Turbine Concepts

Floating wind turbines are supported by floating structures and, hence, have 6
degrees of freedom, which can be excited by wave, wind, and ocean current loads.
The entire system should be moored and stabilized using mooring lines, ballast-
ing, etc. They are relatively huge structures varying 5000–10,000 t for a 2–5 MW
unit.
The base cases are spar, tension-leg platform (TLP), ship shaped (e.g., barge)
and semisubmersible. However, hybrid concepts and modified concepts can be
considered as well. As mentioned before, only a few floating wind turbines are in-
stalled. One is the Hywind in Norway, fitted with a turbine from Siemens. Another
is the Windfloat, installed off the coast of Portugal, with a Vestas turbine. The most
recent is the Fukushima semisubmersible wind turbine. Few scale models such as
the Blue H in Italy and Sway in Norway are constructed as well.
Any kind of stabilized and moored floating body can be considered as a base
structure for a wind turbine. Brainstorming in several joint projects had been carried
out, and different concepts and designs for floating wind turbines were introduced.
The idea is to have cost-effective solutions capable of competing with bottom-fixed
offshore wind turbines in the short term, and decreasing the need of subsidies for
offshore wind business in a longer-time scale and compete with hydrocarbon ener-
gies, such as oil and gas.
Offshore wind is a good resource providing stronger and steadier winds, hence,
increasing the annual production. Due to technical challenges and cost issues,
4.7 Semisubmersible Offshore Wind Turbine 65

special concepts are feasible in such water depths. Different proven support struc-
tures from the offshore oil/gas industry can be the starting point for feasible floating
offshore wind designs. They need to be modified and tailor-made to suit the require-
ments needed in the wind industry. The unnecessary issues, e.g. high reliability fac-
tor (low risk) applied in oil business, should be customized as well. In the following,
some of the basic concepts are discussed.

4.7 Semisubmersible Offshore Wind Turbine

Offshore wind projects that applied semisubmersible as the base floater are listed in
Table 4.8. Semisubmersible type floating wind turbines can be installed and com-
missioned near shore and transported afloat to offshore site. This is one of the key

Table 4.8   Semisubmersible floating offshore wind projects

Company, country Offshore Water Status Future Website/references
site depth develop-
ment
WindFloat Prin- Portugal 50 m 2 MW More http://www.principlepow-
ciple power (USA) operating units may erinc.com (demowfloat.eu)
since 2011 appear (principlepowerinc.com)
Compact Japan – 2 MW – https://www.mes.co.jp/
semisubmersible wind tur- english/
Mitsui Fukushima bine com- (fukushima-forward.jp,
FORWARD missioned Fukushima FORWARD)
(Japan) in 2013
DeepCWind(USA) USA – Scaled 6 MW http://www.deepcwind.org/
prototype appears in
(20 kW) 2016
launched in
2013
HiPR Wind (EU) Spain 80 m Design 1.5 MW is http://www.hiprwind.eu/
phase planned
Windflo Nass et France 50 m Design MW scale http://www.nass-et-wind.
wind (France) phase com/
(4coffshore.com 2013)
Vertiwind Technip France 50 m Design 2 MW http://www.technip.com/en
(France) phase planned
Mitsubishi Fuku- Japan – – 7 MW http://www.mhi.co.jp/
shima FORWARD planned (fukushima-forward.jp,
(Japan) Fukushima FORWARD)
INFLOW Technip France – – 2 MW http://www.technip.com/en
(France)
66 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Table 4.8 (continued)

Company, country Offshore Water Status Future Website/references
site depth develop-
ment
GustoMSC – 50 m Tank test – http://www.gustomsc.com/
Trifloater
(Netherlands)
Hitachi (Japan) Japan – Coopera- – http://www.hitachizosen.
tion with co.jp/
Statoil
Shimizu (Japan) Japan 25 m Design – http://www.shimz.co.jp/
phase
WEMU (EU) Russia 5m Scaled – http://www.dvfu.ru/
prototype
testing
WindSea (EU) Norway 25 m Tank tests – http://www.windsea.no/
completed about-windsea/

advantages of this concept. Semisubmersible projects with and without braces are
introduced in the market. Deployment of braces limits the fatigue life and affects
the design. Fukushima phase I applied semisubmersible with braces. However, in
phase II of Fukushima project, braceless semisubmersible is planned to be used as
a base structure for a 7 MW turbine. Figure 4.7 illustrates the schematic layout of a
semisubmersible wind turbine.
Semisubmersible floaters are gaining stability by spreading the water surface
area. They usually consist of 3–4 slender columns that are connected to each other
by pontoons and braces (in offshore oil/gas, they can have more columns depending
on the design). The restoring moments depend on the surface area of each column
and the distance between them (∝ AL2 ) . The distance between the center of gravity
(COG) and the center of buoyancy (COB) can increase the restoring moments as
well (if the center of mass is below). However, for semisubmersibles, the main con-
tributor in stability is the arrangement of the columns and the surface area of them.
Increasing the surface area means more hydrodynamic forces and consequently
more structural stiffness needed to cope with the loads. The increase of the distance
between columns requires more stiffening of braces and pontoons. In Fig. 4.8, an
example of braceless concept, V-shaped semisubmersible, is shown. The pontoons
are directly connected to columns.
A semisubmersible offsore wind is stable in heave due to Archimedes law. The
total weight of the structure is in balance with the buoyancy force. If the platform
moves downward, the added volume of submerged part of columns applies a buoy-
ancy force upward and tries to return the structure back to its initial condition. Pitch
and roll motions are stabilized by the action of restoring moments. The restoring
moments are discussed above. The yaw, surge, and sway need mooring line ac-
tions to be stabilized. The mooring keeps the system stable while allowing some
4.8 Tension-Leg Platform (TLP) Offshore Wind Turbine 67

Fig. 4.7   Semisubmersible offshore wind turbine layout

freedom for slowly varying motions. Surge and sway have natural frequencies (e.g.,
0.05 rad/sec) much lower than the wave frequency. Yaw motion can have larger
Eigen-mode frequency, still below the wave frequency region.

4.8 Tension-Leg Platform (TLP) Offshore Wind Turbine

Tension-leg platform (TLP) offshore wind projects are listed in Table 4.9. Sche-
matic layout of a TLP wind turbine is shown in Fig. 4.9. A TLP is stabilized using
the tension forces in the tendons. The tension legs compensate the force difference
between buoyancy and total weight. The ratio between the total tension in legs and
68 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Fig. 4.8   Example of the braceless concept, V-shaped semisubmersible wind turbine. MWLS Mean
Water Level Surface

the total weight is in the order of 25 %. Installation of such a system can be a chal-
lenge. One way is to ballast the system prior to transport/installation and de-ballast
it again prior to installation of tension legs. However, deep study of the stability
during all these phases is necessary. It is likely that the metacentric height of such
a system is negative. This means if the tendons are removed, the structure is not
stable anymore. TLPs have small motions resembling as they are fixed. This can be
an advantage to gain more smooth electric power. However, to keep a structure so-
stiff means resisting against the hydro-aero-dynamic loads. Also, the appearance of
4.8 Tension-Leg Platform (TLP) Offshore Wind Turbine 69

Table 4.9   Tension-leg platform wind projects

Company, Offshore Water Status Future Website/
country site depth development references
GICON SOF Germany 20 m Design phase – http://www.gicon.de/
(Germany)
BlueH Italy 50 m 80 kW installed MW scale http://www.bluehgroup.
(Netherlands) in 2008 planned com/
a
Mitsui Japan 60 m – – https://www.mes.co.jp/
(Japan)
Ocean breeze UK 60 m – – http://www.xanthusen-
(EU) ergy.com/
a
Nautica USA – – – http://www.nauti-
(USA) cawindpower.com/
Glosten UK 65 m Design phase MW scale http://www.pelas-
Pelastar planned tarwind.com/
(USA)
Iberdrola UK – Model testing in – www.iberdrola.es
(Spain) 2012
a
Hybrid TLP/semisubmersible

Fig. 4.9   Layout of a tension-leg platform wind turbine

70 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Fig. 4.10   Layout of a spar-type wind turbine in deep water with catenary mooring lines

higher Eigen-modes in TLP concepts needs care for being out of excitation by rotor
dynamics and tower elastic modes.
A TLP wind turbine consists of a central column that is usually slender to reduce
hydrodynamic loads. The tower and rotor/nacelle assembly is mounted at the top of
this column. Tendons need to be attached with a distance to the central column. This
provides restoring moments. Stiff arm like a bar is an option otherwise pontoons
can be applied depending on the design. Use of pontoon helps to reduce the size
of the central column and consequently to reduce the hydro loads. Meanwhile, the
ballasting can be applied at lower compartments to increase the stability. Suction or
gravity anchoring may be applied to fix the tendons at the seabed.

4.9 Spar Offshore Wind Turbine

Figure 4.10 shows a catenary moored spar-type wind turbine in deep water. The off-
shore wind projects using spar floater are listed in Table 4.10. In general, spar plat-
form is a circular cylinder which is ballasted using water/metal/concrete at lower
4.9 Spar Offshore Wind Turbine 71

Table 4.10   Spar offshore wind projects

Name Offshore Water Status Future Website/references
company site depth development
Hywind Norway 200 m 2.3 MW oper- Farms based http://www.statoil.
Statoil ating since on 5 MW com/
(Norway) 2009 turbines (xodusgroup.com
2013)
(statoil.com 2009)
Sea Twirl Sweden – Scale proto- – http://seatwirl.com/
(Sweden) type tested
Nagasaki/ Japan 100 m 100 kW 2 MW is http://www.kyoto-u.
Goto-hybrid- launched in commis- ac.jp/en
spar 2012 sioned 2013 (4coffshore.co, 2013)
Toda Coopera- by replacing (japanfs.org, 2009)
tion (Japan) the 100 kW, (offshorewind.biz
Larger tur- 2013)
bine appears
2016
Fukushima Japan 50 m Full scale for 7 MW wind http://www.jmuc.co.jp/
FORWARD substation turbine en/
(Japan) (not a wind appears (fukushima-forward.
turbine) jp, Fukushima
FORWARD)
Sway Norway 55 m Scaled proto- – http://www.sway.no/
(Norway)a type testing
a
Sway: a hybrid Spar/TLP concept

compartments. This lowers the COG and increases the distance between the COB
and COG. High metacentric height (GM) helps to increase the stability of the struc-
ture. Tower and rotor/nacelle assembly are put at the top of the spar.
The restoring moments in pitch and roll motions are directly linked to GM.
The heave motion restoring comes from the surface area. The surge/sway and yaw
need stiffness of mooring lines. There is no hydrodynamic excitation for yaw mo-
tion; hence, for regular oil/gas platform-spread mooring lines around the platform
attached to fairleads are adequate. However, for a floating wind turbine, the wind
loads introduce yaw moment, which should be taken by mooring lines. Due to the
slender shape of spar platforms, if the mooring lines are directly attached to fairlead,
a small restoring moment in yaw is resulted. Hence, the mooring lines should be at-
tached with an arm, e.g., attached to a horizontal bar. Another option is having delta
lines. Delta configuration results in proper yaw-restoring-moments if clump mass is
used to increase the tension.
72 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Fig. 4.11   Spar-type wind turbine configuration in moderate water depth

Spar can be implemented in moderate water depth, e.g., 100–150 m if proper

considerations are made in design regarding the mooring lines and mass/buoyancy
configuration. The limitation of using spar in shallower water is highly dependent
on the size of the turbine. Figure 4.11 shows an example for a spar-type wind tur-
bine configuration in moderate water depth.

4.10 Unconventional Floating Wind Turbine Concepts

There are some offshore wind projects in which alternative floaters and arrange-
ments compared to traditional concepts have been used, see Table 4.11. Different
concepts based on combining the regular concepts have been introduced. These
4.10 Unconventional Floating Wind Turbine Concepts 73

Table 4.11   Alternative offshore wind projects

Name Offshore Type/platform Water Status Website
company site depth references
DIWET – Floater – – (4coffshore.
(France) com 2013)
Hexicon (EU) – Floating wind 26 m Design phase http://www.
turbines array hexicon.eu/
SKWID Japan Floating wind and – Onshore test http://www.
MODEC current hybrid for wind part in modec.com/fps/
(Japan) power generation 2013 skwid/
Supported by
moored buoy
IDEOL France Ring-shape surface 35 m – http://www.
(France) floater ideol-offshore.
com/en
Poseidon Denmark Combined 40 m 140 kW from http://www.
(Denmark) wave and wind, waves and floatingpower-
ship-shaped 33 kW from plant.com/
semisubmersible wind
Pelagic Norway Combined – – http://www.
(Norway) wave and wind, pelagicpower.
semisubmersible no/
Wind Lens Japan Combined – 6 kW commis- http://www.
Kyushu wind and solar, sioned offshore riam.kyushu-u.
University semisubmersible ac.jp/
(Japan)

hybrid concepts try to gather the advantages of the basic concepts to cope with the
challenges and requirements of offshore wind technology. Hybrid marine platforms
combining wave energy converters, wind turbines, and ocean current turbines are
rapidly appearing. Synergy effects, which increase the power and lower the cost,
are the main points of such ideas. In Fig. 4.12, an example of combining concepts is
shown. In this proposed concept, a semisubmersible offshore wind turbine applies
tension legs. Hybrid marine platforms combining the wave and wind power devices
are discussed later in the current book.
74 4 Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Fig. 4.12   An innovative example of floating wind turbine based on a combination of semisub-
mersible and tension-leg platform
Bibliography 75

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