Until a few years ago the offshore wind industry was constrained by the seabed characteristics of countries seeking to harness the generating capacity of the wind. Only those with shallow waters of around 40m or less could implement fixed offshore arrays. But in just a few years the game has changed. Floating offshore turbines are entering commercial production and opening up vast swathes of ocean, where the seabed is deep and the wind resources are powerful to generate low carbon energy.

No-one seems more convinced than UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who made history in October 2020 by setting a world leading target for his country of 1GW of floating offshore wind power by 2030. In this episode we find out how the game is changing and what challenges lie ahead for this fast-growing industry.

GUESTS

Cian Conroy, Senior Business Development Manager, Principle Power

Alastair Dutton, Chair of GWECS global offshore wind taskforce and lead consultant to World Bank Group’s offshore wind program

Stuart Killbourn, Principal Engineer for Structural Monitoring, Fugro

Alastair McKie, Director Construction and Positioning Support, Fugro

Julia Roope, Global Business Development Manager for Offshore Wind, Fugro

Sam Strivens, Senior Associate – Offshore Wind, Carbon Trust

PARTNER:

This episode is made in partnership with Fugro

Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from Geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.

RESOURCES

https://www.deepwind.eu/the-deepwind-project

https://www.carbontrust.com/resources

(Photo courtesy of Principle Power. Artist: DOCK90)

The post #77 Floating Turbines: Offshore Wind’s Game Changer first appeared on Engineering Matters.