A Look at Floating Wind Farms: Harnessing Offshore Energy

Complete Premium video at: http://fora.tv/conference/chautauqua_energy_power

Habib Dagher, Structural Engineering Professor at the University of Maine, describes the concept of offshore wind turbines that float in deep water. Currently, the only fully operational floating wind turbine in the world is located in Norway and serves as a model for a planned offshore wind farm in Maine. Ironically, engineers borrowed the design from floating oil and gas rigs.

-----

Habib Dagher, the Bath Iron Works Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Maine, is the founding director of the AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center.

Established by the National Science Foundation in 1996, the interdisciplinary AEWC Center is a world leader in the development of cost-effective, high performance hybrid composite materials for construction applications. The center recently received $15 million in funding from the Department of Energy for the development of offshore wind energy off Maine's coast. - Chautauqua Institution

Dr. Habib Dagher is Professor of Civil/Structural Engineering at the University of Maine, Bath Iron Works Professor of Structural Engineering, and founding Director of the AEWC Advanced Structures & Composites Center.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• turbines
• generators
• energy
• power
• output
• ocean
• sea
• coastal
• new
• england
• electricity
• farms
• windmills
• fora.tv
• foratv
• fora
• tv
• habib
• dagher
• chautauqua
• institution

[MrSpitfireUK]

Surely it's not beyond us to create a structure that can take advantage of both wind and tidal/kinteic power at the same time. I would suspect that these floating towers are going to do a lot of wobbling and/or bobbing, and we could harness that energy at the same time.

[pleasesaymatt]

It's turbine. A turban is what Sikhs wear.

[mistersmith6000]

So a cable goes under the sea..to the mainland. Brilliant. I guess it kills a few birds everyday, but maybe they could find a way to stop that too. Brilliant.

[mrHockeyplayer666]

Matt was here.

[hsafti]

@pleasesaymatt you're an apple

[Raxarax]

@hitheresunshine Ya, totally agree, just as long as people realize that they can't just go around and put an electricity generator wherever they want to. I be no one would argue that we need to turn yellowstone national park into a geothermal production plant. The same can be said for our coastline. I dont care about the turbines as long as they are placed somewhere where no one cares (ex: the middle of the ocean)

[MrSpitfireUK]

@Rod934 I didn't think about the corrosion problem, but I managed to think of two designs where the mechanisms wouldn't be susceptible to corrosion (i.e. the mechanisms themselves would be above the surface). Whether they'd actually work, well, probably not actually. It'll need a greater mind than mine, but I'm sure there are plenty of those out there already.

[Rod934]

@GulfOilDisaster2010  that is solvable.

[Rod934]

@MrSpitfireUK the main problem with also trying to get tidal energy with it would be salt water corrosion. Another thing to consider is it's length and weight which will most likely reduce the overall bobbing and wobbling. I'm sure there are ways in which it could be done, however I think it would be something they would add at a later date to reduce cost.

[SabreTooth123]

@MrSpitfireUK Good thinking.

[Zeno1999]

@pleasesaymatt >Turban has room for personal turbine to charge a cell phone, what a gr8 idea.

Energy flux density of anything but nuclear energy sucks. This idiot can not imagine, in case of storm, it will kill sharks or whales. New nuclear plants are safe and are the best investment for tax payers.

[GulfOilDisaster2010]

The Department of Defense made a statement around a month ago that large wind turbines obstruct the ability of our defense radars... creating a dead zone.

watch?v=ktEdHxQgSEU