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- Category: Articles
Taking Meteorological Predictability into Account when Choosing Sites
The overall economy of a wind power project depends not only on how much energy can be produced but also on how well the daily production can be predicted. When the wind power is well predicted, the cost of balancing it with power from other sources is low, and vice versa. Sites with strong winds and high production are often also sites where the wind and the production are difficult to predict. This article examines the trade-off between production and predictability by comparing two offshore wind power plants with respect to the energy produced and the economic value of the production. The example shows that it may well be a good idea to build wind power plants in places where the winds are weaker, but easier to predict.
By Anna Hilden, FRONTWEATHER, Denmark
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By Anna Hilden, FRONTWEATHER, Denmark
- Category: Articles
Dutch Company Launches Large-Scale Deepwater Wind Turbine in Italy
Placing wind farms far from the coast addresses controversial questions of negative visual impact that often prevent siting of onshore farms. At the same time, winds offshore are stronger and of better quality than onshore, where they suffer from turbulence from contours in the landscape and large man-made structures.? Until now, the only wind farms built offshore have been in shallow waters, typically around 20 metres in depth and often close to the coast.? However, Dutch firm Blue H Technologies BV has come up with a solution, adapted from the oil and gas industry, that allows wind farms to be built in much deeper water, far from the coast, opening up tremendous new possibilities for the wind industry to harvest wind from sea areas that had not been accessible previously.Neal Bastick, Chief Executive Officer, Blue H Technologies BV, The Netherlands
- Category: Articles
Electricity Storage and Offshore Wind Energy
How do you make sure that the supply of electricity always matches the fluctuating demand? Market liberalisation and the increasing prevalence of wind turbines and other widely distributed variable-output production units mean that this is one of the most pressing questions facing the energy industry today. The temporary storage of electricity in batteries or on an energy island may be the answer.By Frits Verheij and Mereille Schreurs, KEMA, The Netherlands
.- Category: Articles
A New Challenge for Tried and Tested Technology
With rapid growth in the wind energy industry, the demand for wind turbines is increasing throughout the world, including regions subject to extreme climatic conditions. LTi REEnergy has produced PITCH system solutions to meet the challenges of offshore, cold and hot climates. This article describes the company's cold climate version (CCV) of the PITCH system.By Jens Ograbek, LTi REEnergy GmbH, Germany
.- Category: Articles
A New Type of Direct-Drive Generator
The NewGen is a new type of direct-drive generator for wind turbines, based on the idea of putting the generator bearings adjacent to the air-gap of a large diameter generator. In this way the stiffness requirements of the rotor and the stator are drastically reduced, which leads to large mass savings in the mechanical structure.? These savings then enable a further diameter increase, which leads to further mass reductions in electrically active parts. The design is based on excitation by use of permanent magnets. So far a 140kW pilot-scale generator has been tested with encouraging results. The next step is a full-scale demonstration in a wind turbine. The development is taking place in cooperation with VG Power AB, Vasteras, Sweden.By Staffan Engström, Independent Consultant, Agir Konsult AB, Sweden
- Category: Articles
Maximising the Value of Wind Energy
Wind energy remains the front-runner in the increased use of renewable energy. In the quest for cost-efficient wind energy, the constant availability of strong winds is crucial for every project. This is why, after coastal regions and high mountains, it is important to explore, develop and install near-shore and offshore wind projects. The first 2MW onshore turbines suffered from transformer reliability concerns around 2002. The problems due to vibrations, electric switching surges and overloading were investigated and designs were changed accordingly. Since 2004, step by step, wind energy has increasingly moved offshore.? Again, some reliability concerns were discovered and equipment was replaced. This article summarises the need for higher specifications and more reliable transformers in order to prepare the wind industry business for sustainable growth in offshore multi-megawatt turbines.By Dr Jan Declercq and Raymond Van Schevensteen, Pauwels International NV, Belgium
.- Category: Articles
Making Offshore Access as Easy as Crossing the Street
Accessing offshore wind turbines is critical to keep all systems running. This is especially true when the weather deteriorates, wind speeds pick up and production can be maximised. But offshore these conditions also mean that wave heights increase and access by boat can become impossible. The Ampelmann has been developed to increase the accessibility from a ship, even in high wave conditions. The system uses six hydraulic cylinders (also used in flight simulators) to support a transfer deck and gangway. By measuring the ship motions continuously and controlling the length of the cylinders, the transfer deck stands completely still compared to the wind turbine. Access to the turbine then becomes 'as easy as crossing the street'.By Jan van der Tempel and David Cerda Salzmann, Delft University of Technology Offshore Engineering, the Netherlands
