Support Structure Suitability for Offshore Wind Farms Development in Greece based on a Sustainable Site-Selection Framework

Site-selection and spatial planning form a crucial step toward the successful development of Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs). Deployment of wind turbines in different water depths has raised the issue of selection of the most suitable support structures. In this work, a well-structured site-selection framework is proposed for the appropriate OWF development in Greece. The methodology includes two successive phases: (Phs.1: Siting Phase) the identification of suitable sites for OWF installation using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based on sixteen exclusion criteria (e.g., water depth and wind power density); and (Phs.2: Support Structure Suitability Phase) the determination of most appropriate and commercially available support structure(s) for each suitable site. The proposed exclusion limits are retrieved from the authors’ systematic review in offshore wind energy research and based on the maximization of environmental sustainability, and the technical and economic viability of OWFs. Twenty sustainable site solutions of either fixed (e.g., jacket) or floating (e.g., Hywind) support structures are proposed. The suggested methodology could support policy makers towards the global and national proper development of such wind energy projects.