Research at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Earth Science Enterprise is complementing the development of offshore wind power in the USA. The American space agency is experimenting with a new technology to measure surface-level sea winds from orbit. Created for monitoring marine weather conditions in general, this technique could evolve into an operational system that would supply valuable data to the wind power industry. Not surprisingly, a high vantage point may offer the best view for offshore wind information.

Over 15% of the cost of an offshore wind turbine is usually attributable to the foundations. Foundation installation and erection of the turbine constitutes one of the greatest areas of risk for an offshore development, because of the problems posed by working in an often difficult marine environment. Developing alternative foundation systems and addressing installation techniques that are less weather sensitive will have a direct and significant impact on the economic viability of offshore wind farm schemes. Results of studies for several offshore wind sites are presented in this article to demonstrate the savings that can be made by innovative thinking in terms of foundation design and construction. Relative costs of foundation systems are compared for differing seabed conditions, together with an assessment of the associated risks in terms of certainty of out-turn costs and schedule.