Live support chatOffshore Wind Energy (Video on Demand)
Credit: 2 PDH
Subject Matter Expert: Lee Layton, P.E.
In Offshore Wind Energy (Video on Demand), you'll learn ...
- The benefits of offshore wind energy
- How wind resources are categorized
- The components of a wind turbine generator
- The types of foundations used for offshore wind energy
Overview
Preview a portion of the video before you purchase it.
Credit: 2 PDH
This video-on-demand course presentation provides a comprehensive overview of offshore wind energy generation, focusing on its potential, technical components, environmental impacts, and economic considerations. Worldwide, there is a significant amount of offshore wind energy production. However, wind energy production in the United States lags Europe and Asia.
The course begins by highlighting the high-capacity potential of offshore wind—estimated at 2,000 GW in the U.S. alone—making it a viable solution for meeting coastal energy demands while avoiding land-use conflicts typical of onshore renewables.
Key benefits include stronger, more consistent wind speeds offshore and better alignment with daily electricity load profiles. The presentation breaks down the major components of offshore wind turbines, such as blades, generators, gearboxes, and control systems, explaining their operation and contribution to energy output. It also outlines the Betz limit, capacity factor, and critical turbine speeds (cut-in, rated, and cut-out) essential to system performance.
The session covers foundation types for various water depths, including fixed-bottom structures (gravity, monopile, jacket, tripod) and floating systems (spar buoy, semi-submersible, tension-leg platform). Each type’s engineering requirements, depth suitability, and environmental impact are examined.
Planning and development challenges are also addressed, including permitting, regulatory hurdles, and the extended timelines from project inception to operation. The presentation emphasizes the need for robust grid interconnection strategies, comparing HVAC and HVDC transmission solutions for offshore applications.
Economically, offshore wind involves high upfront and operating costs, but its long-term energy yield can be competitive. Finally, environmental considerations such as effects on marine habitats, birds, and marine mammals are explored, with mitigation strategies like bubble curtains and artificial reef benefits discussed. The presentation concludes that offshore wind offers abundant, sustainable energy with manageable ecological impacts.
Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- The benefits and challenges of offshore wind energy compared to other renewable and non-renewable energy sources
- The main components of offshore wind turbines, including blades, generators, gearboxes, and control systems, and their role in power generation
- How to determine tVarious offshore wind foundation types—such as gravity, monopile, suction caisson, tripod, jacket, and floating platforms—and their applications based on water depth and seabed conditions.
- Key operational characteristics of wind turbines, including cut-in speed, rated speed, cut-out speed, capacity factor, and the Betz limit.
- The technical and logistical challenges of planning and deploying offshore wind farms, including regulatory processes, interconnection with the electric grid, and long project timelines.
- How to interpret offshore wind resource potential using wind speed maps and technical data to assess viable locations and expected energy output.
- The economic considerations of offshore wind generation, including capital and operating costs, levelized cost of energy (LCOE), and cost comparisons with other energy sources.
- The environmental impacts of offshore wind infrastructure on marine ecosystems, birds, and sea life, as well as mitigation strategies such as artificial reefs and noise attenuation techniques.
Video on Demand
This course is a recorded version of a live lecture and will be streamed directly to your computer's media player. Our format is generally compatible with media players included with all computers and mobile devices. After watching the video presentation, you will return to your account to take the online quiz. While this is a recording of a live presentation, please note that this recording will not qualify as a "live" or "interactive" continuing education activity in those jurisdictions where it is required.
Certificate of Completion
You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.
| This course is applicable to professional engineers in: | ||
| Alabama (P.E.) | Alaska (P.E.) | Arkansas (P.E.) |
| Delaware (P.E.) | District of Columbia (P.E.) | Florida (P.E. Area of Practice) |
| Georgia (P.E.) | Idaho (P.E.) | Illinois (P.E.) |
| Illinois (S.E.) | Indiana (P.E.) | Iowa (P.E.) |
| Kansas (P.E.) | Kentucky (P.E.) | Louisiana (P.E.) |
| Maine (P.E.) | Maryland (P.E.) | Michigan (P.E.) |
| Minnesota (P.E.) | Mississippi (P.E.) | Missouri (P.E.) |
| Montana (P.E.) | Nebraska (P.E.) | Nevada (P.E.) |
| New Hampshire (P.E.) | New Jersey (P.E.) | New Mexico (P.E.) |
| New York (P.E.) | North Carolina (P.E.) | North Dakota (P.E.) |
| Ohio (P.E. Self-Paced) | Oklahoma (P.E.) | Oregon (P.E.) |
| Pennsylvania (P.E.) | South Carolina (P.E.) | South Dakota (P.E.) |
| Tennessee (P.E.) | Texas (P.E.) | Utah (P.E.) |
| Vermont (P.E.) | Virginia (P.E.) | West Virginia (P.E.) |
| Wisconsin (P.E.) | Wyoming (P.E.) | |
Preview a portion of the video before you purchase it.
Credit: 2 PDH
