A Risk-Informed Approach to Performance Assurance - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 88

FINDINGS FOR TASK I: CHAPTER 4
As noted above, the federal government has embraced offshore wind
energy as an integral component of its overarching policy of developing
clean, renewable energy sources. Thus, the government has a fundamen-
tal interest not only in the safety and environmental performance of off-
shore wind farms but also in their reliability and cost-effectiveness.
1. Improvements in the efficiency of offshore wind turbine installations
and reductions in capital and operating costs are needed if offshore
wind energy is to become a highly competitive renewable energy
source. Performance-based (goal-based) standards, which are grad-
ually replacing prescriptive standards in other industries including the
civil infrastructure, offshore oil and gas, and shipping industries, pro-
vide the flexibility needed to accommodate new technologies. They can
be administered and modified by the regulatory bodies in a straightfor-
ward way, they clarify the responsibility of industry in meeting project
goals, and they result in the transparency that comes with the delin-
eation of goals and objectives.
2. As a result of the significant uncertainties affecting facility performance
under operating and extreme conditions, recent PBE standards have a
risk-informed basis.
3. Unless its staffing levels and experience are substantially enhanced,
BOEMRE will be unable to provide the leadership and decision-
making capability necessary for development of U.S. offshore wind
standards.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TASK I: CHAPTERS 3 AND 4
These recommendations flow from the findings in Chapters 3 and 4.
To enable timely development of U.S. offshore wind energy within a
robust regulatory framework, the following approach is recommended:
1. BOEMRE should proceed immediately with development of a set of
goal-based standards governing the structural safety of offshore wind
turbines and power platforms. The regulations should be risk-informed
(see Appendix A) and should cover design, fabrication, and installation.
Offshore wind energy is an emerging technology; therefore, the stan-