| Abstract | Offshore Atlantic Canada has enormous potential for developing wind farms given the strong winds in the region and experience developing offshore oil and gas facilities. Depending on the specific location, there can be hurricanes, strong winter storms, sea ice, icebergs, and icing conditions. Other considerations include the varying water depths, seabed soil conditions, distances to shore, and port and electricity infrastructure. The electricity demand also varies between the four provinces.
Wind turbine structures are designed to be relatively light. As a result, environmental loads can result in significant non-linear effects with coupling between the turbine and supporting structure responses, and susceptibility to fatigue. The choice of structure type will be critical. A significant part of the region is at water depths that are intermediary between those ideal for fixed and floating structures.
The present work provides an overview of the conditions across the region and specific challenges and information gaps. It builds on previous studies of the applicable standards, such as IEC 61400-3-1 and -2, the variation of wind conditions over the region, the relative severities of hurricanes versus winter storms, and the potential for sea ice and iceberg impact loads on floating and monopile support structures. Example OpenFAST analyses are presented for monopile and semisubmersible systems to demonstrate the potential influence of soil conditions on the structural response of the monopile and mooring and anchoring considerations for the semi-submersible. The risk of icing and potential downtime is assessed. |
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