Offshore Wind Energy Course

Lesson 1 • Offshore Wind Project Lifecycle

Introduces the full project lifecycle from development through decommissioning. Students gain a roadmap that connects each course chapter to a real project phase.

Lesson 2 • Global Offshore Wind Industry Overview

Surveys the current state of the global offshore wind market, key regions, and growth trends. Provides industry context that frames all technical and strategic content ahead.

Lesson 3 • Wind Energy Fundamentals

Covers the physics of wind, energy conversion principles, and the wind resource. Establishes the scientific basis needed for all subsequent technical chapters.

Lesson 1 • Measurement and Data Collection Methods

Covers met mast deployment, floating LiDAR, and satellite data sources for offshore sites. Students learn to select appropriate measurement strategies for different site conditions.

Lesson 2 • Geotechnical and Metocean Surveys

Introduces seabed investigation techniques and metocean data collection for site characterisation. Outputs directly inform foundation design and installation planning covered later.

Lesson 3 • Energy Yield Assessment

Teaches methods for estimating annual energy production and associated uncertainties. Connects resource data to financial viability through accurate yield modelling.

Lesson 4 • Site Selection Criteria and Screening

Applies resource, geotechnical, grid, and environmental criteria to identify viable sites. Students practice multi-criteria screening to narrow candidate areas systematically.

Lesson 1 • Turbine Architecture and Main Components

Describes rotor, nacelle, drivetrain, and tower systems and their functional roles. Provides the component-level knowledge needed to analyse turbine performance and failure modes.

Lesson 2 • Offshore-Specific Turbine Design Features

Examines corrosion protection, marinisation, and access systems unique to offshore turbines. Connects design adaptations to the harsh marine environment introduced in Chapter 1.

Lesson 3 • Power Conversion and Electrical Systems

Covers generator types, power electronics, and turbine-level electrical architecture. Students understand how mechanical power becomes grid-ready electricity.

Lesson 4 • Turbine Performance and Control

Analyses power curves, capacity factors, and control strategies across wind speed ranges. Students can interpret performance data and identify optimisation opportunities.

Lesson 1 • Structural Load Analysis

Covers aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, seismic, and operational loads acting on offshore structures. Accurate load characterisation is prerequisite to safe and cost-effective structural design.

Lesson 2 • Corrosion and Structural Integrity Management

Addresses cathodic protection, coating systems, and inspection-based integrity management. Ensures students can plan long-term structural health monitoring programmes.

Lesson 3 • Foundation Types and Selection

Compares monopile, jacket, tripod, gravity-base, and suction bucket foundations. Students apply site-specific criteria from Chapter 2 to select the optimal foundation type.

Lesson 4 • Foundation Installation Methods

Describes pile driving, drilling, and grouting techniques used during offshore installation. Connects structural design to the installation planning covered in Chapter 5.

Lesson 1 • Marine Safety and Emergency Response

Applies offshore safety management systems, permit-to-work, and emergency response planning. Ensures students can uphold safety standards during complex marine operations.

Lesson 2 • Installation Vessels and Equipment

Surveys jack-up vessels, heavy-lift cranes, cable-lay vessels, and support craft. Students match vessel capabilities to installation tasks for specific project conditions.

Lesson 3 • Foundation and Turbine Installation Sequences

Details step-by-step procedures for installing monopiles, transition pieces, and turbine components. Builds on foundation design knowledge from Chapter 4 to plan safe lift operations.

Lesson 4 • Weather Windows and Marine Logistics

Teaches metocean-based weather window analysis and logistics planning for offshore campaigns. Students learn to minimise costly vessel downtime through proactive scheduling.

Lesson 1 • Grid Connection and Power Quality

Addresses onshore grid connection requirements, power quality standards, and grid code compliance. Connects offshore electrical design to onshore network integration.

Lesson 2 • Array Cable System Design

Covers inter-array cable sizing, layout topologies, and loss optimisation. Builds on turbine electrical architecture from Chapter 3 to design the collection network.

Lesson 3 • Offshore Substation Design

Examines offshore substation platform layout, transformer selection, and auxiliary systems. Students understand how the substation aggregates turbine output for export.

Lesson 4 • Electrical System Reliability and Protection

Applies reliability analysis and protection coordination to offshore electrical networks. Students design systems that minimise downtime and protect assets from electrical faults.

Lesson 1 • O&M Strategy and Cost Drivers

Analyses corrective, preventive, and condition-based maintenance strategies and their cost implications. Establishes the strategic framework for all subsequent O&M planning sections.

Lesson 2 • Offshore Access and Logistics

Covers crew transfer vessel operations, helicopter access, and port base management. Students plan safe and efficient technician access under varying sea state conditions.

Lesson 3 • Major Component Replacement

Plans blade, gearbox, and generator replacements using jack-up vessels and crane systems. Applies installation vessel knowledge from Chapter 5 to heavy offshore maintenance tasks.

Lesson 4 • Condition Monitoring and Diagnostics

Introduces vibration analysis, oil sampling, and SCADA-based performance monitoring. Students use diagnostic data to detect faults early and prioritise maintenance actions.

Lesson 1 • Risk Assessment and Contractual Frameworks

Identifies technical, regulatory, and market risks and maps them to contractual mitigation. Students structure EPC, O&M, and supply contracts to allocate risk appropriately.

Lesson 2 • Offshore Wind Economics and LCOE

Calculates levelised cost of energy using capital, operational, and financing cost inputs. Students quantify how technical decisions from earlier chapters affect project economics.

Lesson 3 • Project Development Process

Maps the development workflow from site identification through construction-ready status. Integrates resource, technical, and regulatory workstreams introduced throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • Project Finance and Capital Structure

Covers debt and equity structuring, lender requirements, and financial modelling for offshore projects. Students understand how capital structure affects returns and risk allocation.