Summary of Key Findings and Recommendations - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 124

account but will also need to reflect the importance of successful and reli-
able operation of offshore wind turbines to policy goals.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
STANDARDS AND PRACTICES (TASK I)

The committee was tasked with reviewing the applicability and adequacy
of existing standards and practices for the design, fabrication, and instal-
lation of offshore wind turbines. In response to this charge, the commit-
tee reviewed the standards and guidance documents (the latter including
guidelines, recommended practices, and similar documents) that have
been developed or are under development by nongovernmental organiza-
tions, classification societies, standards-development bodies, and govern-
ment entities. It also considered ways in which BOEMRE might address
deficiencies in existing standards and guidance documents.

Applicability and Adequacy

• In reviewing existing sets of standards and guidance documents, the

committee found that many could be applied in the United States
but that no one set was complete.
Many sets of standards and guidance documents for offshore wind
turbines are available from standards organizations, classification soci-
eties, and at least one government. Many, if not most, have elements
that are relevant to the United States and can be applied to installations
in U.S. waters.
Most of these standards and guidance documents—notably, those
used in continental Europe—are detailed and prescriptive. However,
they are incomplete in that no one set covers all aspects of structural
design, fabrication, and installation. All existing standards and guidance
documents have shortcomings that will have to be overcome if they are
to be applied in the United States.
The following are some of the most important areas where existing
standards need more work for use in the United States:
- Environmental site conditions for the United States, especially storm

and hurricane conditions for the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast.
These and other conditions—such as ice loading (for the Great