Offshore Wind Energy Research Trajectory and Trends

Offshore wind power (OWP) is an important green technology owing to its stability and sites for OWP projects (wind farms) are easily obtainable. The authors reviewed 2,217 papers collected from Scopus and used main path analysis (a citation analysis method) to determine the trends in OWP studies. Based on their analysis, they categorized some OWP concepts, including wind farm model, wind farm monitoring, wind speed measurement and analysis, cost and economic analysis, and floating OWP. Furthermore, they found that OWP can be combined with a wave energy unit to generate stable electric power. It is important to monitor the wind turbines of large OWP plants, and OWP plants should be located far from the shore. In this case, floating OWP is more economical than fixed OWP. In addition, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) is more feasible then high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) in terms of cost and stability. However, the magnetic effect of OWP on fishes, plants, and fishermen is uncertain. The European Union plans to install OWP capacity of 40 GW by 2020 and 150 GW by 2030. The results of this study can guide policy making and investment decisions.