Offshore Wind Farms

10.8. Final remarks

While the initial and natural progression from land to sea called for a simple extension of the tower in the form of an MP configuration, deeper waters, heavier RNAs, and higher hub heights demand the analysis of more complex support systems. The stringent requirement on modal performance can only partially be tackled by more substantial SbSs, and in order to prevent them from becoming prohibitive, towers will need to become more significant. Compared to onshore, offshore tower design faces new technical challenges in the expanded loading scenarios that include actions from the hydrodynamics, sea–ice dynamics, and stress-corrosion. Moreover, while a number of design and certification standards are available, no unified guideline ...