Regulatory Issues on Safety and Structural Assurance of Offshore Wind Farms on the OCS
Authors: Sharples B.P. Malcolm 
Published: May 2011

Incidents, accidents, and general problems involving safety of offshore wind farms were examined in a study sponsored by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Regulatory Enforcement (BOEMRE) formerly the Minerals Management Service of the Dept. of the Interior (MMS) and insights provided into the robustness of the current European/International standards providing technical guidance to offshore wind farms worldwide. The evaluation of the standards which related solely to regulatory issues provided a framework for guidance on submission of the required Facility Design Report and Safety Management System documents required by the new regulations promulgated as 250 CFR 285. It also provided a recommended basis for determining the role of the Certified Verification Agent for regulatory oversight of structural issues in the new regulations.

Introduction

Wind power is among the fastest growing electrical generation systems in the world. 2009 was a peak year for United States with the addition of 10,000 MW of new onshore wind generation capacity. Worldwide there are about 17 offshore wind farms with a 6 GW capacity. There are currently no offshore wind farms in the United States although 3 or 4 look to be likely in the next few years, and further capacity in state waters is progressing. A good resource for understanding offshore wind is A Guide to an Offshore Wind Farm (Ref. 1).

Northern Europe has a significant number of offshore wind farms, UK leading with approximately 55% of the total installed offshore wind, followed by Denmark 21%, Netherlands 14%, and Sweden 7%. There has been quite a surge in interest in Germany, where the offshore wind farms seem to have found traction. The experience both on construction, installation and operations has some documentation but almost every one has run into unforeseen difficulties. Some have had issues with almost every component of the turbine and structure and there have been serial failures partially from the speed at which the technology has been put into larger and larger structures.

Offshore wind made its debut in Denmark and the European research programs have been funded to enormous levels compared to the relatively small amount of research in the US. This accounts for much of the progress in Europe, which has developed a manufacturing and design base for wind farms and has led much of the code development. Many of the manufacturers sell into the US marketplace for onshore wind farms. The East Coast of US is a target for offshore developments with good winds, and close consumer markets. Opposition to those so far proposed is high, for a variety of reasons: some the fault of legitimate issues of safety, and noise; many from the " Not in My Back Yard?? syndrome.

The BOEMRE has the responsibility for regulating offshore wind energy development on the OCS. The requirements are promulgated in 30 CFR 285. Their jurisdiction does not stretch to wind farms in lakes, or near shore, though many of the same issues exist for those that do regulate in these areas. The submission requirements could take the same form.

The role of the regulator will evolve over time but is likely to be different than the requirements of what is now customary in the regulatory oversight in the structures in the oil and gas business, where the main concerns are life and pollution events. For wind farms the image of multiple towers collapsed in multiple farms up the east coast of the US would likely be viewed as a failure of standards and regulation, even though the consequence would be mostly economic. Figure 1 shows the path of a recent hurricane which could play havoc with installed wind farms if not designed to adequately resist the forces of the hurricane.