Buoyancy Stabilized Offshore Wind Turbine
Offshore wind resources are valued because they are close to load. However, the cost of energy is too high and detractors argue that they are unsightly. On the US East Coast and in the UK it would be beneficial to have turbines that could be installed in 50 to 150 meters as this would put turbines out of sight, in the strongest wind and close to infrastructure. Clear Path Energy’s (CPE) initial solution was a compliant, buoyancy stabilized design. However, the year one review revealed three major challenges with this approach: 1) Large waves caused large tilt angles requiring excessive support structure, 2) A large pile was needed to resist the 1,000 tons of upward force, and 3) Maintenance on the moving platform would be complicated. Following additional analysis, the design was modified to a compliant, tether stabilized design. Buoyancy was used, not for stability, but to reduce pressure on the articulated seabed connection. The seabed connection was simplified, mass was removed from the tower and the cost of the anchor system was substantially reduced.