Articles | Volume 9, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-141-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-141-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Jan 2024
Research article |
| 18 Jan 2024
| 18 Jan 2024
Drivers for optimum sizing of wind turbines for offshore wind farms
Wind Energy Group, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Michiel Zaaijer
Wind Energy Group, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Dominic von Terzi
Wind Energy Group, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
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Revised manuscript accepted for WES
Short summary
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In a subsidy-free era, there is a need to optimize turbines to maximize the revenue of the farm instead of minimizing the LCoE. A wind farm-level modeling framework with a simplified market model to optimize the size of wind turbines to maximize revenue-based metrics like IRR/NPV. The results show that the optimum turbine size is driven mainly by the choice of the economic metric and the market price scenario, with an LCoE-optimized design already performing well w.r.t. metrics like IRR.
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Next-generation wind turbines are the largest rotating machines ever built, experiencing local flow Mach where the incompressibility assumption is violated, and even transonic flow can occur. This study assesses the transonic features over the FFA-W3-211 wind turbine tip airfoil for selected industrial test cases, defines the subsonic-supersonic flow threshold, and evaluates the Reynolds number effects on transonic flow occurrence. Shock wave occurrence is also depicted.
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In a subsidy-free era, there is a need to optimize turbines to maximize the revenue of the farm instead of minimizing the LCoE. A wind farm-level modeling framework with a simplified market model to optimize the size of wind turbines to maximize revenue-based metrics like IRR/NPV. The results show that the optimum turbine size is driven mainly by the choice of the economic metric and the market price scenario, with an LCoE-optimized design already performing well w.r.t. metrics like IRR.
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Erik Quaeghebeur, René Bos, and Michiel B. Zaaijer
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We present a technique to support the optimal layout (placement) of wind turbines in a wind farm. It efficiently determines good directions and distances for moving turbines. An improved layout reduces production losses and so makes the farm project economically more attractive. Compared to most existing techniques, our approach requires less time. This allows wind farm designers to explore more alternatives and provides the flexibility to adapt the layout to site-specific requirements.
Erik Quaeghebeur and Michiel B. Zaaijer
Wind Energ. Sci., 5, 285–308, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-285-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-285-2020, 2020
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Meteorological and oceanic datasets are fundamental to the modeling of offshore wind farms. Data quality issues in one such dataset led us to conduct a study to establish whether such issues are more generally present in these datasets. The answer is yes and users should be aware of this. We therefore also investigated how such issues can be avoided. The result is a set of techniques and recommendations for dataset producers, leading to substantial quality improvements with limited extra effort.
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Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1811–1826, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1811-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1811-2024, 2024
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Leading-edge erosion (LEE) can impact wind turbine aerodynamics and wind farm efficiency. This study couples LEE prediction, aerodynamic loss modeling, and wind farm flow modeling to show that LEE's effects on wake dynamics can affect overall energy production. Without preventive initiatives, the effects of LEE increase over time, resulting in significant annual energy production (AEP) loss.
Wei Yu, Sheng Tao Zhou, Frank Lemmer, and Po Wen Cheng
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1053–1068, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1053-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1053-2024, 2024
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We propose a new approach to design that aims at optimal trade-offs between economic and environmental goals. New environmental metrics are defined, which quantify impacts in terms of CO2-equivalent emissions produced by the turbine over its entire life cycle. For some typical onshore installations in Germany, results indicate that a 1 % increase in the cost of energy can buy about a 5 % decrease in environmental impacts: a small loss for the individual can lead to larger gains for society.
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Our article presents a way of optimizing the wind farm operation by keeping the emitted noise level below a defined limit while maximizing the power output. This is done by switching between noise reducing operational modes. The method has been developed by using two different noise models, one more advanced than the other, to study the advantages of each model. Furthermore, the optimization method is applied to different wind farm cases.
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Though large wind turbines are appealing to reduce costs, larger blades are prone to aero-elastic instabilities due to their long, slender, highly flexible nature. New rotor concepts are emerging including two-bladed rotors and downwind configurations. We introduce a comprehensive evaluation of flutter behavior including classical flutter and edgewise vibration for large-scale two-bladed rotors. The study aims to provide designers with insights to mitigate flutter in future designs.
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Short summary
Turbines are becoming larger. However, it is important to understand the key drivers of turbine design and explore the possibility of a global optimum, beyond which further upscaling might not reduce the cost of energy. This study explores, for a typical farm, the entire turbine design space with respect to rated power and rotor diameter. The results show a global optimum that is subject to various modeling uncertainties, farm design conditions, and policies with respect to wind farm tendering.
Turbines are becoming larger. However, it is important to understand the key drivers of turbine...
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