A Review of Floating Platform Concepts for Offshore Wind Energy Generation

Literature relating to offshore wind energy generation is produced at a significant rate as research efforts are diverted to the emerging area of future clean energy. This paper presents an overview of recent research in the specific area of floating offshore structure design for wind energy. Earlier literature has broadly grouped these platforms into three categories based on their source of stability: (1) ballast stabilized (low center of gravity), e. g., spar, (2) mooring stabilized, e. g., tension leg platform, and (3) buoyancy or water-plane stabilized, e. g., semisubmersible. These concepts were modifications of similar structures used in the offshore oil and gas industry. Recent papers have presented further improvements to these designs, including active ballasting and control systems. These are examined for stability and global performance behavior and ease of operability and maintenance. The paper also attempts to examine efforts to bring such concepts to fruition. This paper sets the stage for other papers in the Special Session on University of Maine/DeepCWind Consortium within the Offshore Renewable Energy Symposium at OMAE 2012, which are archived in the special section of the Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.