Session: 09-02-02 Wind Energy: Mooring System II

Submission Number: 181310

Assessment of Shared-Mooring and Anchor Configurations for Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Array 

Taiwan’s offshore wind industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, and studies indicate that the Taiwan Strait has excellent wind energy potential. As shallow-water sites become saturated, future developments are expected to move into deeper water areas, making Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs) a promising option. FOWTs can harness stronger wind resources while reducing construction noise and visual impacts, but still face challenges such as array layout design, wake effects, and the complex dynamics of mooring and anchoring systems. Their economic feasibility is also strongly influenced by environmental conditions, including wind, waves, currents, and water depth, that directly affect installation and maintenance costs.

Recent research has shifted from single-turbine analysis to integrated array optimization, emphasizing coordinated design of turbine placement, mooring, anchoring, and electrical systems. Shared mooring and shared anchor configurations have been proposed as effective strategies to reduce system costs without compromising stability. However, most studies focus on deep water regions that exceed 200 meters, while the Taiwan Strait, typically 50 to 100 meters deep, has distinct mechanical characteristics that remain underexplored.

This study aims to investigate the effects of shared mooring and shared anchor systems on load variation and distribution for the wind turbine array, and to evaluate their feasibility in the Taiwan Strait. A case study of the offshore wind farm near Hsinchu is conducted using FAST.Farm to simulate arrays of three or more IEA 15 MW turbines mounted on UMaine VolturnUS-S platforms under various Design Load Cases (DLCs). The analysis includes system dynamics, mooring tensions, and overall stability, as well as anchor-failure scenarios to assess robustness. Preliminary cost estimations are also performed to examine potential economic benefits. The results provide insights for optimizing shared mooring configurations and assessing their applicability in Taiwan’s offshore wind development.

Presenting Author: Hao Huang National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Presenting Author Biography: Hao Huang is a master student and research assistant at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.

Authors:

Hao Huang National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Yanlin Chen National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Yi-Hsiang Yu National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Yon-Ni Xu National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University