Advanced Anchoring System for California Floating Offshore Wind

Project Innovation

This project will develop a floating offshore wind turbine anchor system specifically designed for California's dynamic soil conditions but based on the Recipient's existing technology involving helical piles grouped together with an exterior skirt to provide more efficient geotechnical holding capacity. This novel anchoring system would provide more capacity per pound of steel and the installation would be more cost effective and environmentally friendly due to the minimal noise of installation. The Recipient will collect data on site-specific conditions and evaluate the seismic hazards as they relate to the California offshore Wind Energy Areas (WEAs). Using that data and mooring load details from analyses from team partners, the Recipient will design an anchoring system best suited for California sites. The design will be evaluated for its use with shared anchor and mooring configurations, and will be fabricated and tested in a centrifuge, leading to supply chain assessment to assess manufacturability in California.