Offshore wind farms are becoming a familiar site in prime shallow-water locations around the world, from South Korea to the North Sea. Most of these are anchored in the seabed, but winds are stronger and more consistent further offshore, so energy companies are turning their attention to deeper waters unsuitable for anchored turbines.
The final 9.5MW turbine was towed into position in what is currently the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm in August 2021, and the Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm was completed. The array of six Vestas turbines (five at 9.5MW and one 2MW) sits 15km off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland – Europe’s windiest country – in a location with a water depth of 60-80m. The larger turbines have a rotor diameter of 164m, and each blade weighs 35 tonnes.
The 50MW site will not hold the world title for long, as recent Scottish and Celtic Sea seabed auctions attracted multiple bids for gigawatt-scale operations from consortia including...