Offshore wind farms play an important role in the renewable energy mix. In fact, the UK government is aiming to connect an extra 40GW of offshore wind to the electricity grid by 2030. But what exactly are offshore wind farms, and how are they developed? This article will talk you through the stages of offshore wind farm development and discuss how Clarksons can assist at all stages of this process.
What are offshore wind farms?
Let’s start by exploring what offshore wind farms are and look at their importance in renewable energy.
An offshore wind farm is a facility that generates electricity using wind that blows across the sea. Offshore wind farms are typically located in the open sea, a few miles off the coast. In some cases, offshore wind farms can also be built in lakes. As well as providing a clean and sustainable source of energy, they offer a number of other advantages, including:
- Higher wind speeds out at sea make offshore wind farms more efficient than onshore projects.
- Fewer turbines are required to produce energy offshore compared to onshore due to greater wind speeds and better consistency in direction.
- Offshore wind farms have less of an impact on the environment and tend to be less controversial for local populations as they do not interfere as much with the landscape.
- There is more available space to construct offshore wind farms out at sea than onshore wind farms on land.
Steps in offshore wind farm development
Construction of onshore wind farms typically takes around four to eight years. For offshore wind farms, however, it takes considerably longer – around seven to eleven years. This time period is broken down into several distinct stages. Let’s look at each of the stages involved in offshore wind farm development:
- Site selection
The first step is to select a suitable site for the wind farm. When making this decision, developers need to consider wind speed, water depth, and how close to shore it should be. - Planning and development
In-depth planning and preparation is crucial before any construction can begin. This stage involves a wide range of tasks, such as feasibility studies, obtaining permits, environmental planning, site design, assessment of wind potential, technology review and component selection. - Construction and installation
The third stage involves constructing the farm, installing infrastructure, commissioning, and then connecting it to the grid. As these activities all take place offshore, they can often be very challenging, and this stage is known to be the most time-consuming part of offshore wind farm development. - Operation and maintenance
Following construction, we enter the final stage: operation and maintenance. This requires the wind farm to be operated and maintained safely and efficiently and involves monitoring wind turbine performance to ensure they are working properly, regularly carrying out maintenance and ensuring any necessary repairs are done in a timely manner, as well as logistics management (i.e. transporting workers and equipment to/from the wind farm).
Challenges in offshore wind farm development
Given the complexity of offshore wind farm development, it is no surprise that there are various challenges associated with it. These include:
- Increasing cost of capital, exacerbated by surging interest rates and increasing risk premiums for offshore wind projects.
- Rising cost of materials (e.g. steel and copper) and supply chain issues, particularly given some key markets have limited domestic manufacturing facilities for components.
- Engineering challenges resulting from significant pressure to drive down costs.
- Issues with planning and connection approvals leading to delayed deployment and increased costs.
- Rigid policies that make it difficult to overcome the above challenges.
- Limited infrastructure capable of supporting offshore wind operations in some regions, particularly that can support new offshore wind technologies.
- Sufficient long-term vessel supply that will be needed to keep up with projected demand.
- Impact of weather in some regions means that installation can only happen during certain weather windows.
Despite these challenges, offshore wind presents several valuable opportunities for both individual developers and society as a whole. These include:
- Encouraging technological innovation
Floating turbines and high-capacity generators are just some of the advancements being driven by offshore wind. These are valuable as they can also benefit other renewable sectors. Similarly, offshore wind developments encourage innovation and the modernisation of ports and coastal infrastructure, helping lay the foundations for future renewable projects. - Positive economic impact
The development of an offshore wind project helps foster a robust supply chain in the local area by boosting domestic industries (e.g. steel and shipbuilding) which then has a positive economic ripple effect. Likewise, developing an offshore wind farm can help create jobs, specifically in construction, manufacturing, and operations, in turn boosting the local economy. - Supporting global efforts to reduce climate change
Offshore wind offers huge ‘clean’ energy potential, meaning it can play a significant role in helping to meet decarbonisation targets. Its promise as a scalable solution for reducing carbon emissions means it looks set to continue to attract attention from governments around the world looking for energy sources which reduce dependence on fossil fuels while also providing energy security for their populations.
How can Clarksons assist in offshore wind farm projects?
Clarksons has a specialist Offshore Renewables team, which can assist clients at all stages of offshore wind farm projects – from conception to completion. The team of dedicated sector experts has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities involved in offshore wind farm development and offers a broad range of services and solutions to address these. This includes offshore shipbroking and procurement, transport and installation, and marine advisory and intelligence. Clarksons is your go-to partner for offshore wind farms, with the skills and capabilities to support offshore wind projects of all stages and sizes.
