Project Description
Floating offshore wind turbines are moored to the seabed in deep water. As water depths increase rapidly, anchoring individual turbines requires long length of anchor wire. In addition, some concepts consider shared anchors, which introduces challenging load cases – and potential reduction in holding capacity. Can we reduce cost through alternate mooring arrangements?
This project investigated if mooring turbines to each other, instead of to the seabed, can increase efficiency and reduce anchoring cost. The project simulated a single turbine and an array of turbines, concluding that there is potential to reduce cost without impacting performance.
Fig 1: Preliminary Investigation of a Shared Mooring Arrangement for a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Farm in Deep Water. 2022. Wang, Y., Wolgamot, H. Watson, P. Gaudin, G, Zhao, W & Milne, I