Review of the current status, technology and future trends of offshore wind farms

The present paper provides an overview of the current state and future trends of the offshore wind farms worldwide along with the technological challenges, especially the wind farm layout and the main components. First, this paper provides a review of the operative wind farms, main components characteristics and the wind farms dimensions. This is followed by a correlation analysis between offshore wind farm layout parameters such as the number of turbines, the installed capacity, the distance from shore and the water depth. Moreover, the present paper reviews the available data regarding the future projects' portfolio. The evolution of offshore wind technology related to the pre- and under-construction projects is discussed. The data showed an increase in the wind farm dimensions and the capacity of the turbines for wind power generation more in line with that from other energy resources, which is, thereby, enhancing the potential and attractiveness of offshore wind industry for future investors. Finally, a discussion of future previsions related to offshore wind farm layout and capacity concludes the paper.