ABSTRACT
At the beginning of 2008 offshore wind farms comprised only 587 Mega-Watts (MW) installed capacity globally (British Wind Energy Association, 2008), compared with 94,000MW total wind capacity, or just 0.6% (Global Wind Energy Association, 2008). Yet, large-scale offshore deployment is seen as the future for thewind industry due to strongwind regimes and resultant energy yields offshore. Therefore, plans for expansion of offshore wind farms are ambitious, particularly in EU countries with high offshore wind potential such as Denmark, Germany, Spain and the UK.
