OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY

Commercial-scale offshore wind facilities are currently in operation in shallow waters off the coasts of Europe, but further technology development is needed for use in the deeper waters of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Wind is air in motion. Since the earth’s surface is made of various land and water formations, it absorbs the sun’s radiation unevenly. Wind is produced by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun.

Onshore, wind energy has been utilized for power generation for more than two thousand years. In modern times, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity, primarily through the use of wind turbines. Wind flows over the airfoil-shaped blades of wind turbines, causing lift (similar to the lifting force on airplane wings), causing the turbine blades to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator to produce electricity.

Offshore wind turbines are being used in a number of countries to harness the energy of the moving air over the oceans and convert it to electricity.

Offshore winds tend to flow at higher speeds than onshore winds, thus allowing turbines to produce more electricity. Undersea collection cables connect multiple turbines in the wind facility and transport the electricity from them to a transformer where the combined electricity is converted to a high voltage for transmission via undersea cables to a substation. There the electricity is connected to the onshore electricity grid.

Many offshore areas have ideal wind conditions for wind facilities. Denmark and the United Kingdom have installed large offshore wind facilities to take

advantage of consistent winds. Some of the famous Offshore-Wind farms are Thanet (300MW, UK) and Horns (209MW, Denmark).  Today, just more than 600 MW of offshore wind energy is installed worldwide, all in shallow waters (<30 meters) off the coasts of Europe. Proposed offshore wind projects through 2010 amount to more than 11,000 MW, with about 500 MW each in the United States and Canada, and the remainder in Europe and Asia.

Endangered marine life, Navigational interference, Potential alternation of natural environment, noise and visual impacts, Traffic control etc. are some of the exclusive environmental challenges that has been visualized since its implementation. Though its efficient and harmless productivity, its has been regarded as one among the best techniques of the Wind energy technology.


Now, we have certainly understood the emotional power of wind.
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