The research will focus on the technical feasibility of floating wind turbines with respect to the strong interactions among the wind turbine rotor, control system, floating platform, and mooring/cable system, and how different loading events will impact these systems.
The objectives are to conduct a state of the art review of the existing technology of floating wind turbines, identify and rank the critical technical challenges to deploying floating wind turbines on the US OCS, and to propose a draft design guideline for permitting the deployment of floating wind turbines on the US OCS.
A work shop was be held March 20, 2012 in order to discuss the projects findings. Zachary Clement from BSEE will be attending. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
The project is complete. Final report is below.