Floating wind turbine

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Hywind, the first prototype of a floating multi-megawatt wind turbine with a service pontoon in 2009

A floating wind turbine is a wind turbine that is built in the sea or in larger lakes on a floating foundation . There are a number of projects at different planning stages. In addition to smaller prototypes, several floating wind turbines in the multi-megawatt class have already been implemented. In mid-2020 floating wind turbines with a cumulative output of 73 MW were installed; by the end of the year it should be 124 MW. In the longer term (2030-2040), an expansion in the double-digit GW range is considered possible, which should take place primarily in Asia and Europe.

General

In relation to the yield of newly built onshore wind turbines in Germany with around 2200  full load hours , the electricity yield in the North Sea is around twice as large, around 4400 full load hours. In contrast to conventional offshore wind turbines , floating wind turbines can be used in greater water depths, i.e. not only in shallow marginal seas such as the North Sea. Floating wind turbines can be mass-produced in the port and then towed to the site at sea, as was done with Windfloat. Many years of experience have been gathered about the environmental impact on marine flora and fauna of offshore wind farms. There were no observations that would have proven negative consequences for marine animals or for the bird world. On the contrary - there was even an increased biodiversity of aquatic life.

technology

Anchoring Methods in the Oil and Gas Industry

The various concepts differ on the one hand in whether a floating structure carries a single wind turbine or several wind turbines, and on the other hand in the anchoring method ( Spar-Platform (SP) , Tension Leg Platform (TLP) , Semi-submersible-Platform ).

The development of floating wind turbines draws on the experience of the oil and natural gas industry with floating oil and natural gas production platforms .

Projects for single systems

See also this list of floating wind turbines .

In the case of individual systems, a single wind turbine is placed on a floating substructure and anchored to the sea floor. The systems have classic wind direction tracking .

  • The Norwegian oil company Equinor calls this concept Hywind and, after Hywind Demo, has also built the world's first wind farm with floating wind turbines, Hywind Scotland :
    • Hywind Demo was installed in 2009 in Åmøy Fjord near Stavanger , Norway . On the cylindrical floating body with a depth of 100 m and a displacement of 5300 t, the Siemens SWT-2.3-82 wind turbine (82 m diameter; 2.3  MW nominal output) has a hub height of 65 m. In the following years, the plant ran without major incidents at wind speeds of up to 44 m / s and wave heights of up to 19 m and in the windy year 2011 delivered 10.1 GWh (corresponding to around 4400 full load hours).
    • The five 6 MW turbines (SWT-6.0-154) for Hywind Scotland were anchored around 25 kilometers off the Scottish coast in 2017 . The wind farm went into operation in October 2017; reportedly the yield during the first three months of operation - which fell in the windy winter time - was above expectations.
Windfloat prototype
  • A prototype of the Windfloat project was installed in 2011 near Aguçadoura off the coast of Portugal. Instead of a single cylindrical float, Vestas' wind turbine with 2 MW is supported by three floats. Dismantling of the prototype began in July 2016; the turbine will continue to be used in another project. It is planned to build a wind farm consisting of three WindFloat platforms with a capacity of 25 MW. The commissioning of the park, which was approved in 2016 and is to be located near Viana do Castelo , was initially planned for 2018 and is now expected in 2019. The costs are expected to be around 125 million euros, of which a maximum of 30 million euros will be subsidized by the European Commission. Another WindFloat project, which was planned in the Pacific off the coast of Oregon according to the designs submitted in 2013 , was stopped in 2015.
  • As part of the Goto ocean energy project of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment , a 1: 2 model (100 kW) was tested from June 2012 and the prototype of a 2 MW system from October 2013 off the Gotō island of Kaba ( 椛 島 ). It is a leeward runner with a hub height of 56 m on a hybrid economy platform (steel above, prestressed concrete below) with a draft of 76 m. There was only one 600 kW line at the test site. The system was relocated for commercial operation and has been supplying the Gotō main island of Fukue-jima with electricity for the equivalent of € 0.29 / kWh since April 2016.
  • As part of the Fukushima FORWARD of the Japanese Ministry of Economic Affairs , an offshore wind farm is being built off the coast of the Fukushima prefecture . It currently consists of a 2 MW system (since December 2013), a 7 MW system (since December 2016) on semi-submersible and a 5 MW system (since March 2017) and a transformer platform (22/66 kV, 25 MVA, since 2013) on savings platforms.
  • The Winflo project was initially to be implemented with a 1 MW wind turbine off the coast of France. However, due to the rapid increase in the power of wind turbines, it was postponed to equip this platform with powerful wind turbines immediately. The tower is arranged in the middle between three floats. The nacelle rotates to align the rotor.
  • The Nautica concept : As a leeward rotor with a two-blade rotor, Nautica Windpower has passive wind alignment, a non-rotating (and therefore particularly robust nacelle), is characterized by great flexibility and fast, inexpensive assembly at sea. V-shaped outriggers to leeward end in semi-submerged buoyancy bodies, a single tension leg engages the tower, which is extended downwards.
  • SCDnezzy was developed by aerodyn and presented in 2014, just as the licensee Ming Yang Wind Energy installed a firmly established 6 MW prototype with a two-blade rotor. For the floating variant, 8 MW on a Y-shaped semi-submersible balanced by three buoys were envisaged, whereby the tensile force of the anchor acting diagonally at the end of the longer of the three arms should be transferred to the anchoring to the tower head. So far only a 1:36 scale model has been tested.
  • Ideol has developed a ring-shaped, floating foundation with a square floor plan that can be made of concrete or steel. A first prototype made of concrete was anchored off the French Atlantic coast at Le Croisic in 33 m water depth as part of the EU-funded Floatgen demonstration project with a Vestas V80 wind turbine and put into operation in August 2018. Hitachi Zosen built another steel prototype under license, which was also put into operation in August 2018. A project with four 6.2 MW turbines will follow in France, which will be installed in front of Gruissan from 2021 , and in Japan it will soon become a commercial wind farm.
  • The floating offshore foundation (SOF) developed by GICON GmbH is a special solution of a tension leg platform. The GICON-SOF consists of a supporting structure with buoyancy bodies made of concrete, which is anchored to a buoyant heavyweight anchor made of concrete on the seabed using ropes. The wind turbines can already be mounted on the SOF in the port of equipment and brought to their intended location in a floating manner, so that cost savings can be achieved by dispensing with the use of installation vessels .

It's a rigid concept. Other developers, on the other hand, are convinced that flexible concepts can reduce costs to the extent necessary, such as B. also underlines the Nautica concept.

  • Blue H , headquartered in the Netherlands, plans to build a 2.4 MW two-wing aircraft on a submerged deepwater platform (SDP). A first small prototype has already been tested near Brindisi / Italy in the Mediterranean. The prototype was put into operation in December 2007. At the end of 2008 it was dismantled because the license had expired. The 2.4 MW system is to be tested at the same location.
  • The Sway concept was developed by the Sway Company and main shareholder Inocean in cooperation and a. Developed with Shell and Statkraft for water depths from 80 to 300 m. The float, in the form of an elongated rod, is to be firmly anchored in the sea floor according to the TLP principle.
  • In 2011, the 1:50 floating prototype SEATWIRL was tested near Halmstad near Sweden, which was equipped with a VAWT rotor.

Concepts for multiple systems

There are also concepts in which the nacelle and rotor of a single wind turbine do not turn into the wind, but the entire floating platform. This allows the assembly of several wind turbines on the same platform without mutual wind shading and the use of slim, guyed masts with an aerodynamic profile. The alignment of the platform may have to be actively corrected if an (external) system fails or if there are different directions of wind and ocean currents ( tides ).

  • The Poseidon concept of the Danish company Floating Power Plant A / S includes the simultaneous production of electricity from wind and wave power. “Poseidon 37” is an approximately 37-meter-wide and 360-tonne island made of metal parts that floats on the surface of the sea and can simultaneously produce electricity from wind and wave energy. “Poseidon 37” was tested between 2008 and 2013 in the Vindeby Havmøllepark (Vindeby wind farm) off the Danish island of Lolland . The follow-up project P80 for an 80 meter wide system with 2.6 MW wave and 5 MW wind power converters in the north of Scotland was refused approval and the project was stopped.
  • aerodyn engineering has further developed the above SCDnezzy concept to one with two rotors ( SCD nezzy 2 , SCD stands for super-compact drive , the drive train) and is currently designing such a system with 2 × 3 MW, but aims at 15 MW, which cannot be achieved economically with a single rotor. The forked tower with bracing, also horizontally between the two gondolas, stands on a semi-submersible, which is stabilized by three (now again classically solid) buoyancy bodies. An 18 meter high prototype was erected in June 2020 in a quarry pond near Bremerhaven by EnBW and the engineering company Aerodyn Engineering.

Security of supply: balance in Europe

While longer, large-scale lulls can be observed over inland Europe, this is not the case over the seas in this form. The good locations on the seas have higher full load hours. As a rule, both the wind and the sea depth increase with increasing distance from the coast, which then requires the use of floating wind farms. The seasonally different electricity production is even more important . The south-western tip of Portugal has the highest yields in summer, the same applies to the Aegean. In this way, the need for backup power plants can be systematically reduced by specifically selecting the installation site. If it turns out that more electricity from wind is desired throughout Europe in summer, then the wind farms off Portugal and the Aegean Sea will have to be expanded. High- performance HVDC lines, such as B. are already a reality in China , are then assumed. This can reduce the criticism of insufficient security of supply.

Possible uses

Floating wind turbines convert wind energy into electrical power and can feed this into the general power grid. In view of their usually large distance to areas of consumption, applications that use the electricity on site or in the immediate vicinity (coast) are also conceivable. The focus is on applications that can also be operated with fluctuating energy supply and whose products can be stored and transported.

Possible applications (selection):

  • Seawater desalination : Greek researchers led by the University of the Aegean developed the prototype of a floating seawater desalination plant that produces drinking water independently of the power grid and powered by a wind turbine. The 20 × 20 m large system with the designation FAEFEDU - Floating Autonomous Environmental Friendly and Efficient Desalination Unit , in German about floating, autonomous, environmentally friendly efficient desalination plant is able to desalinate around 70 cubic meters of water per day. It was tested in the port of Iraklia .
  • Production of hydrogen from wind power through electrolysis
  • Production of biomethane, also EE-gas called
  • Production of methanol ( methanol economy ) or PtL fuels

Optimization possibilities

In addition to the significantly higher electricity yield, there are a number of optimization options for the essential components of floating wind power plants (platform, tower, rotor / nacelle), which also improve economic efficiency. These possibilities fully apply to the MUFOW concepts, partly also to the other concepts.

Rotor / nacelle

Although the single-wing aircraft was successfully tested inland, the acoustic and optical stresses were used as an opportunity to largely forego the further development of single-wing aircraft ( Monopteros (WEA) ). This also applies to two-winged aircraft, although these were built more frequently. The single-wing aircraft has advantages: Not only are two blades saved, but the high number of revolutions of the rotor means that a smaller gear unit is sufficient - and for gearless wind turbines a smaller ring generator, which leads to significant copper savings. Due to the stronger wind at sea, the poor approach behavior of single-wingers does not matter. In addition, acoustic and optical factors play less of a role at sea.

tower

When using connected twin tubes as a carrier of the platform, there are much better possibilities for bracing / support, which ensure the static requirements with significantly less material expenditure. Since the entire platform turns into the wind, this support can be built to the front like a Ferris wheel or tripod .

logistics

Floating power plants can be pre-assembled on land and then transported out to sea in a few large assemblies. In sufficiently deep waters, the entire system can also be transported using tugs . At the target point only the anchoring and the connection are necessary, which ideally are already prepared. The time-consuming transport of large components, such as long blades, can be dispensed with if the wind turbine manufacturer or supplier has access to a seaport, which is the case with some manufacturers. Then large components can be manufactured in one piece without restrictions due to transport on public roads, unlike the E-126 wind turbine from Enercon , whose blades are prefabricated in two segments and then assembled on site.

literature

  • Andrew R. Henderson, David Witcher: Floating Offshore Wind Energy - A Review of the Current Status and an Assessment of the Prospects. Wind Engineering 34, 2010, doi: 10.1260 / 0309-524X.34.1.1 .
  • Floating foundations for wind turbines. In: Schiff & Hafen , issue 6/2013, Seehafen-Verlag, Hamburg 2013, p. 128.
  • Torsten Thomas: Practical solutions for floating foundations. In: Schiff & Hafen , issue 12/2014, Hamburg 2014, pp. 36–38.
  • Thomas Wägener: SOF take the next hurdle. In: Hansa , issue 1/2016, pp. 48/49.
  • Mats Arnamo: Floating wind energy platforms. In: Hansa , Heft 12/2014, Hamburg 2014, p. 62/63 (English)

Web links

Commons : Floating Wind Turbine  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Project Malta
  2. ↑ USA first offshore wind turbine installed ( memento of the original from April 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Cleanenergy-Project.de @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cleanenergy-project.de
  3. ↑ Floating wind to 'accelerate to 70GW by 2040' . In: Windpower Monthly , July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. ↑ Berthold Hahn et al. a .: The limits of growth have not yet been reached . In: Wind Industry in Germany. 6/2015.
  5. ↑ IWR: alpha ventus delivers approx. 4400 full load hours
  6. ↑ Wind float is dragged from the coast into the sea
  7. ↑ Installation of a floating two-winged aircraft with a barge
  8. ↑ Effects on flora and fauna
  9. ↑ The Bladt company builds foundations for the entire offshore infrastructure: gas, oil and wind
  10. ↑ Nenad Keseric (Statoil): Norway's solution: Hywind - world's first full scale floating turbine ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Presentation in: The 2nd Norway-Taiwan Joint Business Council Meeting , May 14, 2014, Oslo. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cieca.org.tw
  11. ↑ Siemens supplies offshore wind turbines for floating wind farms. In: Ship & Harbor . Issue 1/2016, p. 29.
  12. ↑ The installation of Hywind
  13. ↑ Claudia Wanner: This wind farm will change offshore energy generation. In: WELT.de. Axel Springer SE, October 18, 2017, accessed on March 21, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Mark Austin: The world's first floating wind farm has already exceeded expectations. In: Emerging Tech. Designtechnica Corporation, March 4, 2018, accessed March 21, 2018 .
  15. ↑ World class performance by world's first floating wind farm. In: General news. Statoil ASA, Stavanger, February 15, 2018, accessed March 21, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Principle Power's WindFloat Prototype - The Windfloat concept on YouTube
  17. ↑ WindFloat®. Principle Power, accessed March 21, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Portugal Charts Offshore Wind Path. Offshore Wind, November 27, 2017, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  19. ^ Portuguese Floating Wind Consortium Gets All Clear from European Commission. Offshore Wind, December 8, 2017, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  20. ↑ Wind Float Atlantic Project. Repsol SA, Madrid, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Produção do parque eólico flutuante em Viana do Castelo levará pelo menos um ano. SAPO24, March 21, 2018, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Questions and Answers on the outcome of the first call for proposals under the NER300 programs. In: European Commission> Press releases database> Press Release details. European Commission, December 18, 2012, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Chelsea Davis: Without Oregon utilities nod, Coos Bay Wind Float dead in the water. In: The World Newspaper. Lee Enterprises, Southwestern Oregon Publishing Co., December 7, 2015, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Gotō City 「五 島 市 海洋 エ ネ ル ギ ー」 (Japanese, accessed December 8, 2013)
  25. ↑ Tomoaki Utsunomiya et al .: Design and Installation of a Hybrid-Spar Floating Wind Turbine Platform . Proceedings of the ASME 2015 34th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, May / June 2015, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, doi: 10.1115 / OMAE2015-41544 ( online ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / catalog.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp
  26. ↑ 4C Offshore: Events on Sakiyama 2-MW Floating Wind Turbine . March 26, 2016.
  27. ↑ a b Japan Wind Power Association: Offshore Wind Power Development in Japan . February 28, 2017.
  28. ↑ Fukushima F loating O ffsho r e W ind F ar m D emonstration Project (Fukushima FORWARD)
  29. ↑ Winflo with 6 MW wind turbine from Alstom
  30. ↑ Offshore floating wind. ( Memento from July 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) The Winflo concept.
  31. ↑ Video animation of the Winflo concept as a two-winged aircraft
  32. ↑ Nautica Windpower as a two-winged aircraft
  33. ↑ Video animation about Nautica Windpower
  34. ↑ New energy: floating wind power plant as two-winged 8 MW
  35. ↑ France's first offshore wind turbine produces electricity. September 19, 2018, accessed December 6, 2019 .
  36. ↑ Bruno Geschier (Ideol): Expertise Hub VIDEO: Concrete Floating Foundations More Durable and Cost-Effective (Ideol). 23rd August 2017.
  37. ↑ Mariyana Yaneva: Quadran, Senvion consortium wins tender for French pilot floating wind power projects. Renewables Now, July 25, 2016.
  38. ↑ Joshua S Hill: Macquarie signs up to co-develop Japanese floating wind farm. RenewEconomy, May 1, 2018.
  39. ↑ GICON SOF 1
  40. ↑ Transport and installation of the GICON®-SOF
  41. ↑ Frank Adam et al. a .: Development of a foundation for offshore wind turbines made of steel-concrete composite components. In: Schiff & Hafen , issue 11/2016, pp. 40–43, ISSN  0938-1643
  42. ↑ Design Advantage. ( Memento from July 16, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Cost reduction through flexible concepts
  43. ↑ Internet presence of the Sway Company
  44. ↑ newatlas.com
  45. ↑ The small prototype Seatwirl off Sweden ( memento of the original from October 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / seatwirl.com
  46. ↑ inhabitat.com
  47. ↑ Floating Power Plant A / S .
  48. ↑ Poseidon - a combination of wind and waves
  49. ↑ Poseidon P80 (DFOWDC) Offshore Wind Farm . 4C Offshore, August 1, 2016.
  50. ↑ Eize de Vries: Twin rotors bring 15 MW offshore turbine closer. WindPower Monthly, May 30, 2017 (conversation with the Aerodyn shareholder and then CEO Sönke Siegfriedsen).
  51. ↑ Bernward Janzing: Renewable energies in waters: How wind turbines learn to swim . In: The daily newspaper: taz . June 9, 2020, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed June 9, 2020]).
  52. ↑ Nezzy² research project: Enbw and Aerodyn are testing a model for floating wind turbines for the first time in Germany (ee-news.ch). Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  53. ↑ Aerodyn Engineering: data sheet SCD nezzy 2 .
  54. ↑ Current wind situation in Europe
  55. ↑ Wind map over the European seas
  56. ↑ South Portugal: Highest wind yield in summer
  57. ↑ Aegean: Highest feed-in of wind power in summer
  58. ↑ HVDC - a necessity for Europe (PDF; 51 kB)
  59. ↑ Criticism of the concrete implementation of the energy transition
  60. ↑ A Floating Wind Turbine / Desalination Plant, developed at the University of the Aegean  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.investingreece.gov.gr  
  61. ^ Production of biomethane
  62. ↑ Methanol production from wind energy (PDF; 907 kB)
  63. ↑ New concept: multifloater, tripod, central gondola, one-wing aircraft
  64. ↑ One-wing aircraft from ADES
  65. ↑ One-wing aircraft from ADES with a rigid hub
  66. ↑ Presentation of the Hywind concept on Youtube
  67. ↑ The Sealock concept for quick installation
  68. ↑ Transport of the 83.5 meter long wings
  69. ↑ Wing of the E-126 in two segments