In this report, the details of an investigation into the e ect of the low induction wind turbines on the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCoE) in a 1GW o shore wind farm is outlined. The 10 MW INNWIND.EU conventional wind turbine and its low induction variant, the 10 MW AVATAR wind turbine, are considered in a variety of 10x10 layout configurations. The Annual Energy Production (AEP) and cost of electrical infrastructure were determined using two in-house ECN software tools, namely FarmFlow and EEFarm II. Combining this information with a generalised cost model, the LCoE from these layouts were determined. The optimum LCoE for the AVATAR wind farm was determined to be 92.15 e/MWh while for the INNWIND.EU wind farm it was 93.85 e/MWh. Although the low induction wind farm o ered a marginally lower LCoE, it should not be considered as definitive due to simple nature of the cost model used. The results do indicate that the AVATAR wind farms require less space to achieve this similar cost performace, with a higher optimal wind farm power density (WFPD) of 3.7 MW/km2 compared to 3 MW/km2 for the INNWIND.EU based wind farm.
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This paper presents the design of the offshore energy simulation CEL as a flow network, and its integration in the MSP Challenge 2050 simulation game platform. This platform is designed to aid learning about the key characteristics and complexity of marine or maritime spatial planning (MSP). The addition of CEL to this platform greatly AIDS MSP authorities in learning about and planning for offshore energy production, a highly topical and big development in human activities at sea. Rather than a standard flow network, CEL incorporates three additions to accommodate for the specificities of energy grids: an additional node for each team's expected energy, a split of each node representing an object into input and output parts to include the node's capacity, and bidirectional edges for all cables to enable more complex energy grid designs. Implemented with Dinic's algorithm it takes less than 30ms for the simulation to run for the average amount of grids included in an MSP Challenge 2050 game session. In this manner CEL enables MSP authorities and their energy stakeholders to use MSP Challenge 2050 for designing and testing more comprehensive offshore energy grids.
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Renewable energy sources have an intermittent character that does not necessarily match energy demand. Such imbalances tend to increase system cost as they require mitigation measures and this is undesirable when available resources should be focused on increasing renewable energy supply. Matching supply and demand should therefore be inherent to early stages of system design, to avoid mismatch costs to the greatest extent possible and we need guidelines for that. This paper delivers such guidelines by exploring design of hybrid wind and solar energy and unusual large solar installation angles. The hybrid wind and solar energy supply and energy demand is studied with an analytical analysis of average monthly energy yields in The Netherlands, Spain and Britain, capacity factor statistics and a dynamic energy supply simulation. The analytical focus in this paper differs from that found in literature, where analyses entirely rely on simulations. Additionally, the seasonal energy yield profile of solar energy at large installation angles is studied with the web application PVGIS and an hourly simulation of the energy yield, based on the Perez model. In Europe, the energy yield of solar PV peaks during the summer months and the energy yield of wind turbines is highest during the winter months. As a consequence, three basic hybrid supply profiles, based on three different mix ratios of wind to solar PV, can be differentiated: a heating profile with high monthly energy yield during the winter months, a flat or baseload profile and a cooling profile with high monthly energy yield during the summer months. It is shown that the baseload profile in The Netherlands is achieved at a ratio of wind to solar energy yield and power of respectively Ew/Es = 1.7 and Pw/Ps = 0.6. The baseload ratio for Spain and Britain is comparable because of similar seasonal weather patterns, so that this baseload ratio is likely comparable for other European countries too. In addition to the seasonal benefits, the hybrid mix is also ideal for the short-term as wind and solar PV adds up to a total that has fewer energy supply flaws and peaks than with each energy source individually and it is shown that they are seldom (3%) both at rated power. This allows them to share one cable, allowing “cable pooling”, with curtailment to -for example-manage cable capacity. A dynamic simulation with the baseload mix supply and a flat demand reveals that a 100% and 75% yearly energy match cause a curtailment loss of respectively 6% and 1%. Curtailment losses of the baseload mix are thereby shown to be small. Tuning of the energy supply of solar panels separately is also possible. Compared to standard 40◦ slope in The Netherlands, facade panels have smaller yield during the summer months, but almost equal yield during the rest of the year, so that the total yield adds up to 72% of standard 40◦ slope panels. Additionally, an hourly energy yield simulation reveals that: façade (90◦) and 60◦ slope panels with an inverter rated at respectively 50% and 65% Wp, produce 95% of the maximum energy yield at that slope. The flatter seasonal yield profile of “large slope panels” together with decreased peak power fits Dutch demand and grid capacity more effectively.
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Within the context of the Iliad project, the authors present technical challenges and the first results of having valid 3D scenes of (non-)existing offshore wind farms procedurally and automatically generated within either the Unreal or Unity game engine. The Iliad – Digital Twins of the Ocean project (EU Horizon 2020) aims to develop a ‘system of systems’ for creating cutting-edge digital twins of specific sea and ocean areas for diverse purposes related to their sustainable use and protection. One of the Iliad pilots addresses the topic of offshore floating wind farm construction or maintenance scenario testing and validation using the Unity 3D game engine. This work will speed up the development of these scenarios by procedurally and automatically creating the Unity 3D scene rather than manually (which is done at present). The main technical challenges concern the data-driven approach, in which a JSON configuration file drives the scene creation. The first results show a base wind farm running in Unreal 5.1. The final product will be able to handle environmental conditions, biological conditions, and specific human activities as input parameters.
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While modern wind turbines have become by far the largest rotating machines on Earth with further upscaling planned for the future, a renewed interest in small wind turbines (SWTs) is fostering energy transition and smart grid development. Small machines have traditionally not received the same level of aerodynamic refinement as their larger counterparts, resulting in lower efficiency, lower capacity factors, and therefore a higher cost of energy. In an effort to reduce this gap, research programs are developing worldwide. With this background, the scope of the present study is 2-fold. In the first part of this paper, an overview of the current status of the technology is presented in terms of technical maturity, diffusion, and cost. The second part of the study proposes five grand challenges that are thought to be key to fostering the development of small wind turbine technology in the near future, i.e. (1) improving energy conversion of modern SWTs through better design and control, especially in the case of turbulent wind; (2) better predicting long-term turbine performance with limited resource measurements and proving reliability; (3) improving the economic viability of small wind energy; (4) facilitating the contribution of SWTs to the energy demand and electrical system integration; (5) fostering engagement, social acceptance, and deployment for global distributed wind markets. To tackle these challenges, a series of unknowns and gaps are first identified and discussed. Based on them, improvement areas are suggested, for which 10 key enabling actions are finally proposed.
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With the effects of climate change linked to the use of fossil fuels, as well as the prospect of their eventual depletion, becoming more noticeable, political establishment and society appear ready to switch towards using renewable energy. Solar power and wind power are considered to be the most significant source of global low-carbon energy supply. Wind energy continues to expand as it becomes cheaper and more technologically advanced. Yet, despite these expectations and developments, fossil fuels still comprise nine-tenths of the global commercial energy supply. In this article, the history, technology, and politics involved in the production and barriers to acceptance of wind energy will be explored. The central question is why, despite the problems associated with the use of fossil fuels, carbon dependency has not yet given way to the more ecologically benign forms of energy. Having briefly surveyed some literature on the role of political and corporate stakeholders, as well as theories relating to sociological and psychological factors responsible for the grassroots’ resistance (“not in my backyard” or NIMBYs) to renewable energy, the findings indicate that motivation for opposition to wind power varies. While the grassroots resistance is often fueled by the mistrust of the government, the governments’ reason for resisting renewable energy can be explained by their history of a close relationship with the industrial partners. This article develops an argument that understanding of various motivations for resistance at different stakeholder levels opens up space for better strategies for a successful energy transition. https://doi.org/10.30560/sdr.v1n1p11 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Tijdens de rede behandelt Gerard Schepers een aantal actuele ontwikkelingen in de windenergie wereld omdat deze ontwikkelingen de randvoorwaarden bepalen waarbinnen het lectoraat opereert. Vervolgens wordt een aantal speerpunten gedefinieerd waar het lectoraat zich mee bezig houdt. Ook houdt het lectoraat zich bezig met de Human Capital Agenda waarvoor op verzoek van het Topconsortium voor Kennis en Innovatie (TKI) Wind op Zee, een plan van aanpak is gedefinieerd. Tijdens de rede wordt het feit dat windenergie gewoon een leuk en interessant vak is, zeker niet onberoerd gelaten!
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De huidige donkere wolken boven de Noordzee zijn onder andere de reden de huidige Noordzeeplannen nog eens goed tegen het financiële en uitvoeringstechnische licht te houden. “Idealiter samen met België en Duitsland, die immers een flink deel van de Nederlandse Noordzee energie zullen gaan afnemen en daarvoor hun fair share moeten gaan betalen. Doorgaan op de bestaande weg dreigt veel te traag te gaan en is ook veel te duur geworden. We eindigen dan wel met een power house, maar zonder industrie.”
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Volgens investeerders is een sluitende business case voor offshore windparken onmogelijk. “Ze willen weer subsidie. Evenzo willen investeerders in wind op land en zon-PV voortzetting van de SDE, terwijl in Klimaatakkoord was afgesproken daarmee in 2026 te stoppen. De ontwikkeling van zon-PV op woningdaken is ingestort na het einde van de salderingsregeling. Eigenaren van gascentrales willen een capaciteitsmarkt, waarbij zij een vergoeding krijgen, noem het subsidie, bovenop de opbrengst van verkochte stroom. Kommer en kwel dus in elektriciteitsproductieland. De baten wegen niet op tegen de kosten.”
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