The first set of "recommended practices" designed to support the development of offshore wind farms in US waters has been produced by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
The Recommended Practices for Design, Deployment and Operation of Offshore Wind Turbines in the United States document is freely available and drawn up with the support of the US Department of Energy and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Five "critical areas" are focused on:
- structural reliability
- manufacturing, qualification testing, installation and construction
- equipment safety
- operation and inspection
- decommissioning.
As yet, the US has no offshore wind capacity, though at least one 30MW demonstration project, Block Island, is scheduled to begin generating electricity by 2015.
