Are there challenges to putting wind farms in water?
Saturday, May 15th, 2010 at
5:01 pm
What should be taken into consideration when developing a wind farm in a body of water (versus on land)? Are there any challenges that won't crop up with land-based turbines?
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Tagged with: body of water • challenges • turbines • wind farm
Filed under: Wind Farms
Well one challenge is having to sink a structure sturdy enough to hold the windmill, and then secure it to the sea floor, which can be hundreds of feet below sea level. I suppose you could try to make a windmill that bobs up and down in the water like bouy, but it would be pretty top heavy.
Then, add the cost of running the transmission lines back to shore and you get a recipe for something that is not economically viable.
Yes. foundation and access entry design has to consider tide and wave action, the supporting column will be that much taller(depth of water added to height required above water), and the cables to transmit the power to shore will have to be rated for submerged duty and properly laid and secured to the bottom of the body of water. Off-shore wind farms are usually estimated at 1.5-2.0 X the cost of equivalent land-based ones.