Final Report Summary - POWWOW (Prediction Of Waves, Wakes and Offshore Wind)
The POWWOW project aimed to develop synergy of the wind and wave prediction sectors through combination of technologies used in the different fields of offshore meteorology from short to resource timescale. The project major tasks were to connect the mindset of researchers working separately in those fields, to help with data for the development of models regarding wakes and short term prediction (STP) and to develop a series of workshops addressed to researchers and end users. Virtual laboratories (Vilabs), workshops and scientific publications were utilised to achieve the project objectives.
Two Vilabs were developed during the project:
1. the wakes Vilab aimed to evaluate the state-of-the-art on wake modelling, based both on bibliography and ongoing research. Available commercial data as well as data series from smaller scale wind farms were used for the evaluation. The Vilab was quite successful with numerous end users downloading short time series and it appeared that there would be transfer of the acquired expertise to other related projects after POWWOW completion.
2. the STP Vilab aimed partially to carry out some of the data acquisition work which is necessary in research projects and partially to establish common evaluation criteria and procedures over these data. In spite of its innovative character the VilAb did not receive the expected attention.
Understanding of the commercial and research conditions in the wakes and wind fields is necessary to explain the difference in the two Vilabs success. Wake models are still in the development phase, with the traditional models being insufficient for offshore applications and data being scarce. As a result the relevant Vilab became apparently successful. On the other hand wind energy forecasting is a rather mature area. Commercial users have already developed their models, for which they are confident, and estimate that comparing their products with the competence is non-beneficial. It was expected however that the STP Vilab would have had greater influence in the academia world, which was not the case despite the project team efforts.
Workshops were organised as part of POWWOW to create platforms for exchange in very specific fields of science. Workshops addressed to various needs of the participants and covered a wide range of applications. They were namely the following:
1. integration of offshore wind and wave resource calculations, which was based primarily on the extensive experience for offshore wind resource calculations.
2. best practice in the use of short-term wind forecasting, which met wide success and resulted in a series of further workshops being held after the project completion.
3. wakes and their influence on wind farms productivity, combined with the planned enormous growth of the offshore wind power, which will affect the existing inland farms.
4. optimal use of information, taking into account the varying regulatory, environmental and commercial conditions in different countries. Among this workshop conclusions were the emphasis on the need for expanded models to allow for extreme events prediction, the need to define the margin for current models improvement and the necessity to achieve further penetration of the new models in the market.
5. meteorological aspects of STP, organised in order to review and discuss the best methodologies for utilising numerical weather and wave prediction on energy prediction, both short and long range.
6. STP emphasising in the local conditions of Brazil, as part of the integration of Brazilian partners in POWWOW.
7. special sessions as part of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) general assembly.
8. workshops diffusing the results of European research worldwide.
Knowledge was also propagated through papers and publications, related to subjects such as the integration of offshore wind and wakes resource calculations, the various methodologies for wind assessment in European seas, the wake estimation in STPs and the best practice in their use.
POWWOW aimed to facilitate researchers and commercial end users interested in wind and wakes through integration of those different fields and dissemination of knowledge. Various efforts were made in such direction, not all of the same success. Nevertheless, the workshops reached people from numerous countries worldwide, a series of them continues after the project completion and expert groups on these fields were established. An effort for extension of European standards for wind turbine communication with forecast data is also under way.
Two Vilabs were developed during the project:
1. the wakes Vilab aimed to evaluate the state-of-the-art on wake modelling, based both on bibliography and ongoing research. Available commercial data as well as data series from smaller scale wind farms were used for the evaluation. The Vilab was quite successful with numerous end users downloading short time series and it appeared that there would be transfer of the acquired expertise to other related projects after POWWOW completion.
2. the STP Vilab aimed partially to carry out some of the data acquisition work which is necessary in research projects and partially to establish common evaluation criteria and procedures over these data. In spite of its innovative character the VilAb did not receive the expected attention.
Understanding of the commercial and research conditions in the wakes and wind fields is necessary to explain the difference in the two Vilabs success. Wake models are still in the development phase, with the traditional models being insufficient for offshore applications and data being scarce. As a result the relevant Vilab became apparently successful. On the other hand wind energy forecasting is a rather mature area. Commercial users have already developed their models, for which they are confident, and estimate that comparing their products with the competence is non-beneficial. It was expected however that the STP Vilab would have had greater influence in the academia world, which was not the case despite the project team efforts.
Workshops were organised as part of POWWOW to create platforms for exchange in very specific fields of science. Workshops addressed to various needs of the participants and covered a wide range of applications. They were namely the following:
1. integration of offshore wind and wave resource calculations, which was based primarily on the extensive experience for offshore wind resource calculations.
2. best practice in the use of short-term wind forecasting, which met wide success and resulted in a series of further workshops being held after the project completion.
3. wakes and their influence on wind farms productivity, combined with the planned enormous growth of the offshore wind power, which will affect the existing inland farms.
4. optimal use of information, taking into account the varying regulatory, environmental and commercial conditions in different countries. Among this workshop conclusions were the emphasis on the need for expanded models to allow for extreme events prediction, the need to define the margin for current models improvement and the necessity to achieve further penetration of the new models in the market.
5. meteorological aspects of STP, organised in order to review and discuss the best methodologies for utilising numerical weather and wave prediction on energy prediction, both short and long range.
6. STP emphasising in the local conditions of Brazil, as part of the integration of Brazilian partners in POWWOW.
7. special sessions as part of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) general assembly.
8. workshops diffusing the results of European research worldwide.
Knowledge was also propagated through papers and publications, related to subjects such as the integration of offshore wind and wakes resource calculations, the various methodologies for wind assessment in European seas, the wake estimation in STPs and the best practice in their use.
POWWOW aimed to facilitate researchers and commercial end users interested in wind and wakes through integration of those different fields and dissemination of knowledge. Various efforts were made in such direction, not all of the same success. Nevertheless, the workshops reached people from numerous countries worldwide, a series of them continues after the project completion and expert groups on these fields were established. An effort for extension of European standards for wind turbine communication with forecast data is also under way.
