Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Spread Mooring Experience Applied to Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Floating oil and gas platform mooring systems have enabled commercial deepwater developments to 3000m water depths. The technology is mature, proven, and cost-efficient. Floating offshore wind turbines are in early developmental stages but have demonstrated their potential to harness the substantial prevailing wind energy in water depths beyond the commercial limits of fixed offshore wind farms. While much floating wind turbine foundation technology has been adopted from floating oil and gas platforms, the industry is being challenged to reduce lifecycle costs to levels that justify building industrial scale wind farms. The design, manufacture, installation, and operation of floating offshore wind turbine mooring systems is a significant contributor to lifecycle cost. This paper provides an overview of floating oil and gas, and floating offshore wind platform spread mooring system evolution, discusses synergies and differences, and offers suggestions leading to a pathway to commercializing floating offshore wind farms.