Offshore wind power

Article By:

Styczynski, Zbigniew A. Institute of Power Systems, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.

Rudion, Krzysztof Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.

El-Hawary, Mohamed Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Last reviewed:May 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.466107

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• Offshore wind energy conversion, published January 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

The generation of energy from wind turbines placed in marine environments, typically in the ocean on continental shelves. Generally, offshore wind turbines are installed in groups referred to as wind farms (Fig. 1). Offshore wind farms can be located either close to a shoreline, which is more effective with respect to maintenance and interconnection, or far out at sea, where wind conditions are better and energy yields can therefore be higher. Thus, the corresponding number of full-load hours (FLH), defined as the ratio of annual energy yield divided by the nominal power of the wind turbine, reaches up to 4500 FLH at far-offshore locations, while in the onshore regions it lies in the range of about 1600–2500 FLH. See also: Coastal engineering; Continental margin; Ocean; Turbine; Wind; Wind power

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