Wind energy appears to be a promising solution to cope with a significant part of the increasing worldwide demand for renewable energy. In Denmark, for example, 20% of the electricity is produced from wind, and plans are towards reaching 50%. As space is becoming scarce for the installation of onshore wind turbines, offshore wind energy, when possible, seems as a good alternative.

Simon-Philippe Breton and Geir Moe at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim have described, for Europe and North America, the potential for offshore wind energy, the current status of this technology, and existing plans for the development of offshore wind parks. They have also discussed existing as well as promising new solutions for offshore wind energy.

Offshore wind energy has some advantages over its onshore counterpart. However, many challenges remain regarding this rather new technology. Several offshore wind parks have been developed in Europe, but the technology is still at an early stage.

The conditions in North America are rather different from those in the European waters currently used for wind parks. Therefore solutions that are being developed and implemented in Europe will probably not be optimal in North America, where no offshore parks are yet installed, but where the potential for this clean energy source is enormous.

New technologies will have to be developed in order for large-scale offshore wind parks to be installed in North America, as well as in European sites differing from those that have been used so far. Research is also needed to create wind turbines better adapted to offshore conditions, and to develop feasible and cheap foundations and installation procedures. Successful floating turbine concepts would in the future also make it possible to harvest huge amounts of clean energy far out in the oceans.

Renewable Energy, Volume 34, Issue 3, March 2009, Pages 646–654.
DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2008.05.040