A Texas A&M team has developed a concept that could decrease the cost and time it takes to install offshore wind turbines.
Wind turbines are a renewable energy resource of the future, but installing these enormous turbines in offshore ocean environments is becoming increasingly costly and labor-intensive. As society becomes more dependent on renewable energy resources, the development of improved installation processes is required.
A team of Texas A&M University researchers have theorized a way to transport and install a 15-megawatt wind turbine in offshore environments using vibratory hammers. Funded by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, they will research the practicality and intricacies of taking this idea from theory to reality.
“15-megawatt wind turbines are the future, and as the wind turbine size increases, it is more effective and energy-efficient,” said Moo-Hyun Kim, professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering and co-principal investigator on the project. “In the United States, we have never installed a gravity-based wind turbine of this size, and this may be a pioneering attempt to make this feasible.”
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