{"id":772,"date":"2021-07-15T00:38:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T21:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sirius-energy.com\/blog\/?p=772"},"modified":"2021-07-15T00:38:52","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T21:38:52","slug":"california-is-planning-floating-wind-farms-offshore-to-boost-its-power-supply-heres-how-they-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sirius-energy.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/15\/california-is-planning-floating-wind-farms-offshore-to-boost-its-power-supply-heres-how-they-work\/","title":{"rendered":"California is planning floating wind farms offshore to boost its power supply \u2013 here\u2019s how they work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern California has some of the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., with\u00a0immense potential to produce clean energy. But it has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind turbines directly on the seafloor costly if not impossible.<\/p>\n

Once water gets more than about 200 feet deep \u2013 roughly the height of an 18-story building \u2013 these \u201cmonopile\u201d structures are pretty much out of the question.<\/p>\n

A solution has emerged that\u2019s being tested in several locations around the world: making wind turbines that float. In fact, in California, where\u00a0drought is putting pressure\u00a0on the hydropower supply and\u00a0fires have threatened\u00a0electricity imports from the Pacific Northwest, the state is\u00a0moving forward on plans\u00a0to develop the nation\u2019s first floating offshore wind farms as we speak.<\/p>\n

So how do they work?<\/p>\n

Three main ways to float a turbine<\/h2>\n

A floating wind turbine\u00a0works just like other wind turbines\u00a0\u2013 wind pushes on the blades, causing the rotor to turn, which drives a generator that creates electricity. But instead of having its tower embedded directly into the ground or the sea floor, a floating wind turbine sits on a platform with mooring lines, such as chains or ropes, that connect to anchors in the seabed below.<\/p>\n

These mooring lines hold the turbine in place against the wind and keep it connected to the cable that sends its electricity back to shore.<\/p>\n

Most of the stability is provided by the floating platform itself. The trick is to design the platform so the turbine doesn\u2019t tip too far in strong winds or storms.<\/p>\n

\"An
Three of the common types of floating wind turbine platform.<\/span>\u00a0Josh Bauer\/NREL<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are three main types of platforms:<\/p>\n