Technical and economic aspects of a floating offshore wind farm

Abstract Development of the conceptual design for FLOAT – an offshore floating wind turbine – is described in this paper. This design represents a marriage of the wind power and offshore oil and gas technology. The objective of the FLOAT project is to develop a floating wind turbine system enabling the economic generation of electricity from wind power in offshore locations, typically between 100 and 300 m water depth. The technical and economic aspect of installing an offshore wind farm based on the FLOAT concept is addressed. Issues with regard to legal, environmental, fabrication and installation operations are considered.