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offshore wind turbines

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FuturENERGY November 18

Los rodamientos utilizados en los aerogeneradores han de cumplir dos requisitos clave: alto rendimiento y larga vida útil en condiciones adversas. Esto aplica especialmente al segmento de aerogeneradores marinos, un segmento en el que la potencia de los aerogeneradores está en constante aumento, y que por las características del emplazamiento plantea altas exigencias a los rodamientos. En el mar, debido a las altas velocidades del viento, las cargas estáticas y dinámicas que actúan sobre los rotores y, en consecuencia, sobre todo el sistema de transmisión, son más fuertes que en los aerogeneradores terrestres, cuyos rodamientos principales soportan, ya de por sí, cargas de hasta 1 MN.

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Exhibiting at booth A4.313, Ingeteam will showcase its power converters, turbine controllers, Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS), Smart SCADA Management Systems, along with O&M services for onshore and offshore wind farms. Ingeteam will present its latest advances in predictive maintenance through its Ingeboards data analysis platform. Also, its new optimal medium voltage converter for offshore wind turbines up to 15 MW and the associated research will be presented.

This year, Ingeteam has surpassed the 40 GW converter delivery milestone after enjoying a spectacular growth in its core markets. The company is now firmly established as the world’s number one supplier of wind power converters and have strengthened its international position in the O&M sector. On a global level, Ingeteam’s O&M services has doubled its maintained power compared to 2016, a figure which places its global portfolio at 12.1 GW.

Ingeteam offers low and medium voltage power converters up to 15 MW for onshore and offshore applications, optimized for DFIG and FC topologies. Power converters specifically designed to fulfill the strictest grid codes and air cooled, air/water cooled and full water cooled solutions for harsh environments, achieving industry-leading efficiency and reliability.

Indar provides in house technological excellence backed by a strong R&D department. Its scope comprises asynchronous and synchronous wind generators in different topologies (DFIG, IG and PMG) with output ranging from 1 MW to 9 MW and voltages from 690 V to 15 kV. Overall, Indar wind generators are recognized for their high efficiency and robustness, having obtained the recognition of the OEMs, utilities and the approval from certification bodies. As for standards, Indar generators are compliant with UL standards amongst others. Indar´s track record reaches 25 GW of installed wind generators to date.

The Ingeteam Wind O&M Division mantains more than 12 GW worldwide. The company is a pioneer in the development and maintenance of monitoring technologies, operation and analysis of wind farms and has more than 20 years of experience in this field. During the event, Ingeteam will present its latest advances in predictive maintenance through its Ingeboards data analysis platformand will also exhibit its Ingesys CMS tool for the monitoring of vibrations, supervision and status diagnostics of wind turbines.

Source: Ingeteam

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Ingeteam has announced that a recent in-house R&D study allowed them to work out the optimal electrical power conversion designs for offshore wind turbines up to 15 MW. The research, taking into account the complex set of parameters at play in LCoE, enabled the company to develop a Medium Voltage Power Converter based on the parallelization of several conversion lines (core product) reaching up to the 15 MW power range. Ingeteam claims that its new design is the ideal solution for scaling up offshore turbine platforms and will present its converter and the associated research at the Global Wind Summit in Hamburg next month.

Ingeteam’s R&D study assessed the complex relationship between the cost of the power conversion stage and its reliability and maintainability metrics (MTBF and MTTR respectively[1]) to determine the lowest LCoE. Based on the study findings, Ingeteam found that the optimal solution for the offshore wind market is a Medium Voltage Power Converter based on the parallelization of several conversion lines (core product) reaching up to the 15 MW power range. The power conversion line designed by Ingeteam offers the best investment/availability ratio, with efficient operation, easy maintenance and improved reliability.

“With current technologies, as well as the expected progress in materials and engineering integration, we think that offshore wind turbines will continue to rapidly increase their power capacity. Therefore, a robust medium voltage power converter has been developed focusing on a market that demands a low Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) without compromising quality or performance in wind turbine platforms that are continuously scaling up“, commented Ana Goyen, Director of Ingeteam Wind Energy.

Ingeteam’s new core product is capable of reaching the 15 MW power range and has been conceived considering the modularity of the system as a key feature. It therefore allows multiple solutions depending on customer requirements regarding the integration in the wind turbine. The design of the converter offers maintenance friendly characteristics with front access and withdrawable main components that directly contribute to minimize the OPEX related to the service of the wind turbine.

This medium voltage converter has been specially designed for the offshore market with fully enclosed cabinet and a liquid cooling system that guarantees the safe operation of the converter even in harsh environments. With efficiencies higher than >98% at rated operating conditions, the proposed solution contributes significantly to minimize the production losses of the wind turbine.

Ingeteam has developed the control algorithms of its full power converters to guarantee the fulfillment of the most demanding grid codes, such as, German EON-2006 and Indian CERC-CEA. Additionally, country-specific power quality requirements are fulfilled by applying advanced modulation strategies. Ingeteam’s medium voltage converter solution is able to control the torque of different types of generators (IG, PMG or EESG) with the highest performance dynamics but always remaining within winding and bearing limits. Finally, the control algorithms can be adapted to operate with single and multiphase stator generators in order to optimize the whole wind turbine solution.

[1] The availability depends on two metrics: Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and Mean Time Between Repair (MTTR). It grows with higher values of MTBF and lower values of MTTR. But there is also a direct relationship with costs as higher investments allow better materials or even the additions of redundancies, more advanced tools and optimal maintenance programmes.

Source: Ingeteam

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Cimentación de cubo de succión. Foto cortesía de NGI

Suction bucket foundation. Photo credit: NGI

Framo’s pump technology has been used to successfully anchor 20 wind turbines at the offshore wind farm Burkum Riffgrund 2.

A total of 60 suction buckets have been pumped in place as foundation for the 20 offshore wind turbines in Ørsted’s new wind farm Borkum Riffgrund 2. In June 2018, a team of specialists from Framo, the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and GeoSea installed the first of the 20 suction bucket jackets at the offshore wind farm. After periods of storm and high waves, the foundations of all 20 wind turbines were safely pumped into the seabed with the final jacket foundation installed on Monday, 30 July. The full commissioning of the wind farm is planned for early 2019.

The suction bucket jacket technology for offshore wind farms has gone from concept to reality during the last five years. Besides lowering costs due to the increased installation speeds compared

to traditionally piled jackets, the concept provides for easier decommissioning and practically noise free installation.

This is the first time Framo’s technology has been used to pump so many wind turbines in the same wind farm and is quite unique that so many wind turbines are anchored with suction anchors in one field.

Framo is a sub-contractor to NGI in the installation of the 20 offshore wind turbines. NGI and Framo have collaborated on the installation of offshore anchoring and foundation elements using suction/vacuum since the 1990s.The technology of suction and bucket foundation has been used to secure and safely anchor platforms and offshore installations around the world. Now larger wind farms are being built with this technology. The foundation is installed by pumping water out of the buckets. This creates a suction/vacuum, which press the buckets into the seabed.

The windfarm Borkum Riffgrund 2 is located 54 km off the coast of Lower Saxony, in the German North Sea. In the installation of the 56 wind turbines, 20 will use the suction bucket technology as foundation and 36 will be supported using monopiles. The three-legged foundations measure more than 50 m in height and weighing 950 t each.

Source: Framo

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Acting on behalf of Spanish civil engineering and consulting firm Esteyco, TÜV SÜD is supporting the design and development of an innovative foundation for offshore wind turbines in the ELISA and ELICAN projects funded by the European Union. A pilot wind turbine was installed off the eastern coast of Gran Canaria in June 2018. TÜV SÜD experts have accompanied the project from design examination to pilot-wind turbine installation.

Within the scope of the ELISA and ELICAN projects, an industrial consortium under the leadership of Esteyco is developing an innovative support structure for offshore wind turbines to be used in deep water. The combination of a telescopic tower and a concrete foundation which acts as a self-buoyant platform during transport cuts the installation costs of offshore wind turbines significantly.

The entire structure can be assembled from precast and in-situ concrete elements in the dry dock. During sea transport, the foundation acts as a floating body. The telescopic tower is retracted to ensure a low centre of gravity and thus improve the platform’s floating stability. During installation, the foundation is lowered and the telescopic tower extended. Transportation and installation do not require costly use of special installation vessels and cranes. The ELICAN prototype of the support structure is designed for a wind turbine with a capacity of 5 MW. The two projects, ELISA and ELICAN, are funded by the European Union within the Horizon 2020 programme.

Within the scope of the ELISA and ELICAN projects, TÜV SÜD’s experts examine the design of this innovative concept and provide inspection and monitoring services during prototype installation. Examination of the design and support structure and of static and dynamic analyses requires close collaboration between naval architects and experts in load analysis of wind turbine structures and concrete structures. Inspection of the condition of installation is particularly challenging.

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The innovative 28 MW offshore wind power project located in the waters of North-western Denmark is fullyoperational, producing power for customers Nissum Bredning Vindmøllelaug and Jysk Energi since early 2018. Utilizing the first serial-manufactured SWT-7.0-154 direct drive offshore wind turbines, the project is a showcase of Siemens Gamesa’s commitment to innovation and reducing costs. The wind turbines and further technological advancements have fulfilled expectations and are now in preparation to become available for commercial deployment.

Nissum Bredning Vind is a small project capacity-wise, especially when compared to other offshore wind power projects. But it is extremely significant in terms of innovation. Siemens Gamesa has tested and validated several new technologies here, from a 66 kV transmission system to jacket foundations with concrete transition pieces to a cable-in-pipe installation. These innovations all share the common goal of reducing the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCoE) from offshore wind

Cost reductions of up to 30% compared to traditional elements can be provided by some of the elements installed at Nissum Bredning Vind. The innovative cable-in-pipe installation, where standard onshore cables are installed in plastic pipes from the mainland as well as between the wind turbines, lowers capital expenditures compared to employing offshore cables. Gravity jacket foundations provide a soil interface at normal water depths which can be made more cost-efficient versus classic jacket foundations. Furthermore, the concrete transition piece can be made at a cost level of up to 30% lower than a steel transition piece. Also, the 66 kV transmission system reduces transmission losses, providing the customer with a higher energy output – and thus higher revenue – from each wind turbine.

Source: Siemens Gamesa

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2017 was a record year for offshore wind in Europe according to statistics released by WindEurope. Europe installed 3.1 GW of new offshore wind, setting a new record: twice as much as 2016 and 4% up on the previous record in 2015. Europe now has a total installed offshore wind capacity of 15,780 MW. This corresponds to 4,149 grid-connected wind turbines across 11 countries.

Europe added (net) 560 new offshore wind turbines across 17 different offshore wind farms. 14 new offshore wind farms were completed, including the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, Hywind Scotland. The UK and Germany accounted for most of them, installing 1.7 GW and 1.3 GW respectively and work is ongoing on a further 11 projects in these countries.

The average size of the new turbines installed was 5.9 MW, up 23% on 2016. And the average size of the new offshore wind farms was 493 MW, a 34% increase in 2016. The average water depth of the wind farms completed or partially completed in 2017 was 27.5 metres with an average distance to shore of 41 km.

Capacity factors are also increasing: the annual load factors of all the offshore wind farms in Europe vary between 29% and 48%. There are projects in Europe already operating at capacity factors of 54% (Anholt 1, Denmark) or even 65% (Dudgeon, the UK).

Monopiles are the dominant substructure with 87% of the market share. Jackets and gravity base respectively account for 9% and 2% of the total installed substructures. 2017 saw the installation of the first floating wind farm, allowing floating spar buoy substructures to make their entry to the market.

A further 11 offshore wind farms are currently under construction, adding another 2.9 GW. The project pipeline should contribute a total of 25 GW by 2020. But offshore wind in Europe remains heavily concentrated in a small number of countries: 98% is in the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium.

2017 also saw final investment decisions (FIDs) on 6 new offshore wind projects to be installed in the coming years, representing a further 2.5 GW of new capacity. These investments are worth a total €7.5bn, which is down on 2016. This reflects falling costs in addition to the fact that new investments could still benefit from feed-in-tariffs in 2016. The transition to market-based support (auctions) has slowed down new investments, added to which there is a time lag between winning an auction and confirming an investment. Auctions held in 2016 and 2017 should translate to FIDs worth €9bn in 2018.

Beyond 2020, things are less clear. Much depends what new offshore wind volumes governments commit to in the National Energy and Climate Action Plans for 2030 (NECAPs).

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With a total output capacity of more than 5.3 GW, offshore wind turbines make an increasing contribution to the security of Germany’s energy supply. They deliver clean power almost around the clock, every day of the year; industry representatives from AGOW, the BWE, the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation, VDMA Power Systems and the WAB explained in Berlin during the presentation of the latest expansion figures for offshore wind energy.

According to an analysis of Deutsche WindGuard, a total of 1,169 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 5,387 MW were connected to the grid on 31 December 2017. Following the figures from AG Energiebilanzen, offshore wind turbines increased their power generation to 18.3 TWh in 2017. That is almost 50 percent more than in 2016 (12.3 TWh).

Two offshore wind farms with a capacity of 780 MW are currently under construction. For another five projects with a capacity of 1.5 GW, the final investment plan is now available. Until 2020, the legal extension of offshore wind energy up to a capacity of 7.7 GW is possible.

However, the reduction of the expansion path for wind energy at sea, as envisaged in the German renewables regulation (EEG) in 2017, particularly at the start of the 2020s, is slowing down this positive development of the offshore wind industry in Germany. Therefore, Cuxhavener Appell, initiated by Germany´s coastal states, trade unions and the offshore wind industry back in September 2017, called for an expansion of the offshore wind target to at least 20 GW by 2030 and 30 GW by 2035. Only higher expansion volumes in Germany and throughout the whole of Europe will ensure further and permanent cost reductions, as well as innovations in technological development. Furthermore, the free converter capacities that will arise following the tender results in Germany in spring 2018 should be used promptly. The results to date from the exploratory talks between the parties CDU, CSU and SPD also make this a logical course of action. The massive cost reductions in renewable energy open up new potential and clearly show that the relatively young technologies are now largely competitive to other forms of power generation.

A greater expansion of renewable energies is also necessary from a climate policy perspective. To achieve its domestic and international climate targets, the new federal government must create a political framework limiting the emission intensive power generation, whilst ensuring a higher expansion volume for renewable energies, and thereby adapting the energy system accordingly.

Higher expansion volume for more value creation and employment

Furthermore, a higher expansion volume in the offshore wind energy sector is highly important for more employment and value creation in Germany as an industrial location. Around 20,000 people are currently employed in the German offshore wind industry, at an annual turnover of approximately two billion Euro. Germany accounts for roughly 40 percent of all offshore wind industry employees across Europe. Although final production for the turbine manufacturers predominantly takes place in the north of Germany, the supply industry is spread across all federal states, in particular in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Many companies in eastern Germany are also important suppliers to the wind industry.

Manufacturers and suppliers therefore need the prospect of their production capacities being utilized to retain and add industrial jobs. A stable and sustainable domestic market is the basis for expanding exports of European wind energy technologies. Wind turbine manufacturers currently have an export quota of more than 70 percent. Alongside Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands are also showcasing new technologies and are attractive markets for offshore technologies. And the progress continues – manufacturers are now already working on turbines in the 10 MW class and beyond. It is therefore important to implement the plans for a test field for prototypes in German waters as soon as possible.

Germany can only retain its technological leadership in the field of offshore wind energy through intensified efforts in research and development. Future energy policy should not be oriented towards current technological knowledge – it must be open for innovation.

Priority for grid expansion and sector coupling

In addition to the expansion of renewable energies, the success of the energy transition in Germany is also dependent to a large extent upon grid expansion and the progress within sector coupling. Therefore, the new federal government must make the expansion of the large transmission grids a priority. It is vital to avoid further delays. Furthermore, all technical possibilities must be utilized in order to temporarily or permanently avoid bottlenecks in the grid. These include measures for improving the capacity of the existing grid. It is also important to check the amount of must-run capacities necessary for system stability.

Moreover, the regulatory obstacles to the further coupling of energy sectors must be removed as soon as possible. The mobility solutions of the future must be demonstrably based on renewable sources. Furthermore, access to heat grids needs to be improved and the barriers to direct delivery to industry must be eliminated.

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LM Wind Power announced today the signing of an agreement to develop a 71.8 meter blade for Chinese offshore leader Envision. The deal is followed by a supply agreement from LM Wind Power’s Jiangyin factory in Jiangsu, China that will require the company to expand the manufacturing facility by 50%.

The new 71.8 meter blade will equip Envision’s new 4.5 MW platform and is expected to be installed in H1 2018. The new large-rotor turbine is designed to effectively serve the Wind Class II and III areas in north China offshore.

Dick Xie, Envision Offshore Business Head, said: “Envision has a strong ambition to continue to lead the development of the Chinese offshore wind market and we are pleased to engage in this strategic partnership with LM Wind Power. Our collaboration will ensure high-performing, reliable blades on this new and powerful platform that will contribute to reducing the Levelized Cost of Energy offshore.”

LM Wind Power Vice President Offshore, Alexis Crama, added: “The Chinese offshore wind market is expected to grow on average by 40% annually for the next five years. LM Wind Power has been part of this journey since the very beginning and we are investing significantly in new product development and technologies for the Chinese market, including manufacturing capacity and people. Together with industry leaders like Envision, we look forward to further accelerating the development of a domestic offshore industry, helping China meet its growing demands for clean, renewable and affordable energy.”

The partnership between LM Wind Power and Envision in China goes all the way back to the inception of the Jiangyin plant in 2009. Since then LM Wind Power has delivered both onshore and offshore blades for Envision turbines, and is currently on track to meet a milestone of 100 sets of 66.5 meter offshore blades produced.

LM Wind Power has been present in China since 2001 and currently employs around 2,500 people in the country. The company operates four blade manufacturing facilities in Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Jiangyin and is ramping up production in Baodi.

Source: LM Wind Power

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In the first half of 2017, 108 offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 626 MW fed power into Germany’s national grid for the first time. Therefore as of 30 June 2017 a total of 1,055 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity to 4,749 MW are on the grid. These are encouraging half-year figures, according to Arbeitsgemeinschaft Offshore-Windenergie (AGOW), Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE), Stiftung OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE, VDMA Power Systems and WAB e.V.

The industry expects a total increase of approximately 900 MW for 2017 as a whole. In the first half of 2017, offshore wind energy produced 8,480 GWh of electricity, already roughly 70% of last year’s total output.

 

Seize potential cost reductions, in Germany and Europe

The tendering results in Germany underscore the potential for innovative advancements and cost reductions in the offshore wind industry. For the first time, renewable energy projects were proposed that are expected to operate without EEG subsidies by the mid-2020s and can be refinanced through the electricity market. Electricity production costs have fallen considerably due to new, reliable, more powerful wind turbines with larger rotor diameters, a general increase in the scale of wind farm projects, innovations in foundation structures, better operating and maintenance programmes and more favourable financing conditions.

As a result of this paradigm shift, the next federal government will have new opportunities to exploit the potential benefits of offshore wind energy for industrial policy and the energy sector, specifically by raising minimum capacity targets to 20 GW by 2030 and 30 GW by 2035. The political and techno-logical conditions to promote the necessary grid expansion still exist. Capping offshore wind energy expansion at 15 GW (old target: 25GW) under the EEG 2014 is primarily intended to reduce the costs of the energy transition.

At European level, the offshore wind industry issued in June 2017 a ‘Joint Statement‘ calling for more ambitious expansion by 2030. The statement reaffirmed the industry’s commitment to boost Europe’s offshore wind capacity by 6 GW each year until 2030. An annual expansion of at least 4 GW would be required to cut costs. In the statement, Belgian, Danish and German government representatives acknowledged the cost reductions that have already been achieved and advocated a significant expansion by 2030. They also announced their intention to improve conditions for European invest-ment in offshore projects, networks and infrastructure.

Strengthen Germany’s position as a technology leader

The federal government’s current expansion targets, which call for annual capacity increases of 500 – 840 MW during the 2020s, would slow the growth of the offshore wind industry in Germany. A strong domestic market, stable policy framework and significant expansion are necessary if the German offshore wind industry is to maintain its technological leadership and exploit economies of scale to reduce costs. The industry, which currently employs 20,000 people, can create new jobs only if Ger-man companies continue to participate in the international expansion of offshore wind energy and compete successfully in export markets. In the short term, additional facilities must be provided for testing prototypes and innovative components in offshore projects in German waters. Regulations must be adapted to support these new developments. Only by investing in research and develop-ment and aggressively expanding its market volume can Germany strengthen its position as a techno-logy leader.

Grid expansion and sector coupling: achieving a successful energy transition

The success of the German energy transition depends, besides an increased usage of renewable energies, on expansion of the grid system and promotion of sector coupling. This means a completely transformation of our entire energy system by establishing rapidly new grid infrastructure and redu-cing carbon-intensive fossil fuels in the heating and mobility sectors.

Various technological approaches should be implemented to temporarily or permanently overcome bottlenecks in the land grid. These should include measures to improve network utilisation. In additi-on, the necessary must-run capacities should be reviewed. An increase in transparency and the int-roduction of greater competition in offshore grid connections (for example, through cost-cutting tenders) should also be considered.

Source: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Offshore-Windenergie (AGOW), Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE), Stiftung OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE, VDMA Power Systems and WAB e.V.

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