Project description
Advanced models will aid in optimised offshore wind turbines and lower costs
Although the global offshore wind market has grown substantially over the last decade, with Europe playing a leading role in technology development, the contribution of offshore wind to our power supply remains a small fraction of its potential. Offshore wind farms can harness larger and more reliable winds, yet the infrastructure is much more expensive to install, operate and maintain than onshore technologies. The EU-funded HIPERWIND project will develop advanced models of both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind turbines, enhancing resolution and predictive capabilities. They should foster significantly lower lifetime costs of energy generation and encourage investment.
Objective
The core challenge addressed in this project is the advancement of the entire modelling chain spanning basic atmospheric physics to advanced engineering design in order to lower uncertainty and risk for large offshore wind farms. The five specific objectives of the HIPERWIND project are to: 1) improve the accuracy and spatial resolution of met-ocean models; 2) develop novel load assessment methods tailored to the dynamics of large offshore fixed bottom and floating wind turbines; 3) develop an efficient reliability computation framework; 4) develop and validate the modelling framework for degradation of offshore wind turbine components due to loads and environment; and 5) prioritize concrete, quantified measures that result in LCOE reduction of at least 9% and market value improvement of 1% for offshore wind energy.
The requirements for advanced modelling and development of basic scientific solutions necessitates the strong involvement from academic partners (DTU, ETH, and UiB) and research organizations (IFPEN, DNVGL, and EPRI) and potential end users (EDF) to supply relevant operational data for model validation, provide access to cutting edge industrial environment and to open up exploitation pathways beyond TRL5 toward eventual commercialisation.
HIPERWIND employs multi-scale atmospheric flow and ocean modelling, creating a seamless connection between models of phenomena on mesoscale level and those on wind farm level, with the aim of reducing uncertainty in load predictions, and broadening the range of scenarios for which adequate load predictions are possible. Improved modelling of environmental conditions, improved load predictions, better reliability assessment and lower uncertainty, cost efficient design and operating strategies, and lower O&M costs will yield a projected 9% decrease in the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and 1% increase in the market value of offshore wind by the conclusion of the project.
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Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
2800 Kongens Lyngby
Denmark