Cost-effective deep water foundations for large offshore wind turbines

Offshore wind turbine farms are built further and further away from the shore where the energy potential is large, and where there is room for very large turbines located far away from neighbors. At deeper water levels, the demand related to the wind turbines’ foundation and price increase, as this can amount up to 50 % of the total turbine cost. Therefore, it is crucial to initiate the necessary research now in order to have the basic technology available when the pull from the market comes within the next 5-6 years.

The goal with this platform is to enable the partners to deliver foundations for wind turbines at water depths up to 40-70 meters with the lowest Cost of Energy. An integrated design of foundation and wind turbine is expected to reduce the overall turbine price with 10%, which will displace the market in favour of the Danish wind turbine industry. The jacket foundation is the most suitable technology for greater water depths because monopiles are not competitive due to the extreme loads of wind and fatigue loads from water.