Comparative Study of Generated Power and Fatigue in Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Using OpenFAST

This study comparatively analyzes the energy generation and structural loads of floating offshore wind systems under varying environmental conditions. The NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) 5 MW reference wind turbine was modeled on a spar-buoy and a semi-submersible foundation at two future wind farm locations. The main tool employed in this work is OpenFAST, utilized alongside TurbSim and MLife. Results show that power generation is independent of the platform type at each of the considered locations. However, the fatigue analysis reveals that the tower base lifetime DEL (Damage Equivalent Load) is higher for the turbine installed on the spar-buoy platform, particularly in the fore-aft (or pitch) direction. Finally, the work establishes a replicable methodology for future performance and fatigue analyses, providing a solid basis for further research.