Offshore Wind Research
Early progress in European Offshore Wind Energy over the last decade provides a glimpse into the vast potential of the global offshore resource.
For more than eight years, NREL has worked with the Department of Energy to become an international leader in offshore wind energy research.
Capabilities
NREL's offshore wind capabilities focus on critical areas that reflect the long-term needs of the offshore wind energy industry and the U.S. Department of Energy including:
- Offshore Design Tools and Methods
- Offshore Standards and Testing
- Energy Analysis of Offshore Systems
- Offshore Wind Resource Characterization
- Grid Integration of Offshore Wind
Key Research
NREL documented the status of offshore wind energy in the United States in its recent publication, Large-Scale Offshore Wind in the United States: Assessment of Opportunities and Barriers. The report provides DOE and the U.S. wind industry with a foundation from which to build a national strategy for offshore wind energy development and to set goals that would lead to offshore wind energy becoming a significant contributor to our electric power portfolio.
Recent Offshore Wind Publications
Read more about NREL's offshore wind research:
- Definition of a 5-MW Reference Wind Turbine for Offshore System Development
- Definition of the Floating System for Phase IV of OC3
- Dynamics of Offshore Floating Wind Turbines — Analysis of Three Concepts
- Estimation of Seismic Load Demand for a Wind Turbine in the Time Domain: Preprint
- IEA Wind Task 26 — Multi-national Case Study of the Financial Cost of Wind Energy; Work Package 1 Final Report
- Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States: Executive Summary
- Modal Dynamics of Large Wind Turbines with Different Support Structures
- Model Development and Loads Analysis of a Wind Turbine on a Floating Offshore Tension Leg Platform
- Model Development and Loads Analysis of an Offshore Wind Turbine on a Tension Leg Platform with a Comparison to Other Floating Turbine Concepts: April 2009
- New Modeling Tool Analyzes Floating Platform Concepts for Offshore Wind Turbines (Fact Sheet). NREL Highlights, Research & Development, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). (2011)
- NREL Computer Models Integrate Wind Turbines with Floating Platforms (Fact Sheet). The Spectrum of Clean Energy Innovation, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). (2011).
- Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration (OC3) for IEA Wind Task 23 Offshore Wind Technology and Deployment
- Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration within IEA Wind Annex XXIII: Phase II Results Regarding Monopile Foundation Modeling
- Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration within IEA Wind Task 23: Phase IV Results Regarding Floating Wind Turbine Modeling; Preprint
- On Hurricane Risk to Offshore Wind Turbines in US Waters. Paper No. 20811
- Quantitative Comparison of the Responses of Three Floating Platforms
- Strengthening America's Energy Security with Offshore Wind (Fact Sheet). Wind And Water Power Program (WWPP). (2011)
