scholarly journals Optimal Design of Rated Wind Speed and Rotor Radius to Minimizing the Cost of Energy for Offshore Wind Turbines

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longfu Luo ◽  
Xiaofeng Zhang ◽  
Dongran Song ◽  
Weiyi Tang ◽  
Jian Yang ◽  
...  

As onshore wind energy has depleted, the utilization of offshore wind energy has gradually played an important role in globally meeting growing green energy demands. However, the cost of energy (COE) for offshore wind energy is very high compared to the onshore one. To minimize the COE, implementing optimal design of offshore turbines is an effective way, but the relevant studies are lacking. This study proposes a method to minimize the COE of offshore wind turbines, in which two design parameters, including the rated wind speed and rotor radius are optimally designed. Through this study, the relation among the COE and the two design parameters is explored. To this end, based on the power-coefficient power curve model, the annual energy production (AEP) model is designed as a function of the rated wind speed and the Weibull distribution parameters. On the other hand, the detailed cost model of offshore turbines developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is formulated as a function of the rated wind speed and the rotor radius. Then, the COE is formulated as the ratio of the total cost and the AEP. Following that, an iterative method is proposed to search the minimal COE which corresponds to the optimal rated wind speed and rotor radius. Finally, the proposed method has been applied to the wind classes of USA, and some useful findings have been obtained.

Author(s):  
Abdollah A. Afjeh ◽  
◽  
Brett Andersen ◽  
Jin Woo Lee ◽  
Mahdi Norouzi ◽  
...  

Development of novel offshore wind turbine designs and technologies are necessary to reduce the cost of offshore wind energy since offshore wind turbines need to withstand ice and waves in addition to wind, a markedly different environment from their onshore counterparts. This paper focuses on major design challenges of offshore wind turbines and offers an advanced concept wind turbine that can significantly reduce the cost of offshore wind energy as an alternative to the current popular designs. The design consists of a two-blade, downwind rotor configuration fitted to a fixed bottom or floating foundation. Preliminary results indicate that cost savings of nearly 25% are possible compared with the conventional upwind wind turbine designs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2862
Author(s):  
Amer Al-Hinai ◽  
Yassine Charabi ◽  
Seyed H. Aghay Kaboli

Despite the long shoreline of Oman, the wind energy industry is still confined to onshore due to the lack of knowledge about offshore wind potential. A spatial-temporal wind data analysis is performed in this research to find the locations in Oman’s territorial seas with the highest potential for offshore wind energy. Thus, wind data are statistically analyzed for assessing wind characteristics. Statistical analysis of wind data include the wind power density, and Weibull scale and shape factors. In addition, there is an estimation of the possible energy production and capacity factor by three commercial offshore wind turbines suitable for 80 up to a 110 m hub height. The findings show that offshore wind turbines can produce at least 1.34 times more energy than land-based and nearshore wind turbines. Additionally, offshore wind turbines generate more power in the Omani peak electricity demand during the summer. Thus, offshore wind turbines have great advantages over land-based wind turbines in Oman. Overall, this work provides guidance on the deployment and production of offshore wind energy in Oman. A thorough study using bankable wind data along with various logistical considerations would still be required to turn offshore wind potential into real wind farms in Oman.


2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher N. Elkinton ◽  
James F. Manwell ◽  
Jon G. McGowan

Offshore wind energy technology is a reality in Europe and is poised to make a significant contribution to the U.S. energy supply in the near future as well. The layout of an offshore wind farm is a complex problem involving many trade-offs. For example, energy production increases with turbine spacing, as do electrical costs and losses. Energy production also increases with distance from shore, but so do O&M (operations and maintenance), foundation, transmission, and installation costs. Determining which of these factors dominates requires a thorough understanding of the physics behind these trade-offs, can lead to the optimal layout, and helps lower the cost of energy from these farms. This paper presents the results of a study carried out to investigate these trade-offs and to develop a method for optimizing the wind farm layout during the micrositing phase of an offshore wind energy system design. It presents a method for analyzing the cost of energy from offshore wind farms as well as a summary of the development of an offshore wind farm layout optimization tool. In addition to an initial validation of the optimization tool, an example of the use of this tool for the design of an offshore wind farm in Hull, Massachusetts, is also given.


Author(s):  
Cuong D. Dao ◽  
Behzad Kazemtabrizi ◽  
Christopher J. Crabtree

Abstract Wind energy is growing at a fast pace around the world. According to a report published by WindEurope, 55% of total power capacity installations in the EU came from wind in 2017. In this context, offshore wind plays a decisive role, with countries such as the UK leading the development of large-scale offshore wind projects within Europe and around the world. It is essential that the cost of energy from offshore wind remains competitive with other sources of energy to encourage further investment in offshore wind developments. One way to maintain and further reduce the cost of offshore wind energy is to take advantage of economies of scale by increasing the megawatt ratings of offshore wind turbines. On the other hand, the operational expenditure of the turbines could also be reduced significantly. In this paper, we present a new integrated operation simulation framework for performance evaluation of multi-megawatt direct drive wind turbines suitable for use in far offshore wind farms. The operation simulation considers several essential wind turbine data such as component reliability, i.e. failure rates and downtimes per failure, historical wind speed, turbine information, and repair cost per failure to estimate the operational and economic performance of the wind turbine in its entire lifetime. In the proposed operation simulation, component reliability models and a wind power model are coupled together to simulate wind turbine operation over its entire lifetime using a time-sequential Monte Carlo simulation. Since the reliability data for large-scale offshore wind turbines are scarce and/or restricted to only direct stakeholders, a range of operational profiles for the turbines based on different level of reliability are simulated. In addition, the economic performance of the turbine is measured by defining an index for levelised cost of energy as a function of component reliability. In this way, the wind turbine reliability, power output, failure cost and levelised cost of energy are estimated under the variation of input reliability data. The results of this paper can inform wind turbine performance depending on the reliability of its components, and provide useful information for critical components identification and economic assessment of future far offshore wind turbines.


2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Milborrow

Wind energy technology has developed extremely rapidly, and many commercial wind turbines now on the market have capacity ratings of one megawatt or more. Energy productivity per unit of rotor area has steadily improved. Turbine prices have decreased per unit capacity, so the cost of wind-generated electricity has fallen steadily. This paper examines design concepts, applications and economics, and looks to further developments, including offshore wind energy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 613-626
Author(s):  
Shahab S. Band ◽  
Sayed M. Bateni ◽  
Mansour Almazroui ◽  
Shahin Sajjadi ◽  
Kwok-wing Chau ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
N. Goudarzi ◽  
W. D. Zhu

A novel multiple generator drivetrain (MGD), where a single large generator in a wind turbine is replaced by multiple generators with the same or different rated powers, is proposed along with an automatic switch mechanism as an alternative to an existing MGD. To better understand the advantages and disadvantages of having a MGD in onshore/offshore wind turbines, a MGD with a single or double stage gearbox and multiple generators is compared with a conventional drivetrain with a triple-stage gearbox and a large induction generator. A simple mathematical model for a MGD with an automatic switch is developed, a novel prototype of a MGD is designed and fabricated, and experiments are conducted on the prototype. It is concluded that a multiple-generator drivetrain with generators operating individually or in parallel through an automatic switch mechanism has a better potential of improving the efficiency and the reliability, expanding the operational range, and reducing the cost of offshore and onshore wind turbines than the existing MGD configuration.


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