Researchers Developing Tool to Streamline Offshore Wind Farms Planning

When planning an offshore wind farm, it is important to consider the wind, waves and the seabed at the location where the turbines will stand. Researchers have now developed a dedicated tool that gives a combined overview of all the challenges that need to be considered by developers.

“When we began working with the wind power industry, it hit us that no-one really cares about what happens beneath the seabed. Yet there is a difference between installing turbines along a neat and tidy coastline like Denmark’s, and on the shoreline of Norway,” says researcher Jan Tveranger of Uni Research CIPR.

He has been working on creating a tool to streamline planning of offshore wind farms and provide more effective methods of installing offshore wind turbines for almost two years.

“Geology is treated unfairly. Many factors which can affect how installations can be positioned are not taken into consideration,” explains Tveranger.

The seabed in the North Sea has been thoroughly mapped in connection with oil extraction. And the conditions on land are also well documented.

“However, there is no data on the strip between the water’s edge and 60–70 metres beyond it. Nothing has been collected on the precise area in which turbines will be placed. We simply know very little about the seabed,” says the researcher.

In Norway, offshore wind power has not initially been competitive as it is not profitable enough. To date, the offshore wind power industry is dependent on subsidies in order to be able to exist here in Norway.

“We believe that we can contribute with research which could reduce the costs and makes wind farms more efficient,” explains Tveranger.

He compares the situation to how things stood in the oil industry 15–20 years ago, before the industry began to plan using modelling tools.

“Our main idea was to use tools from the offshore industry, and create a corresponding model for the offshore wind power industry,” says Tveranger.

The models used in the wind power industry today include atmospheric and oceanographic factors, in other words wind and waves and biological information.

“We have created an environment model which also includes the seabed conditions,” adds Tveranger.

The researchers are now discussing the creation of a full demonstration model with the supplier of the tool they used as a basis. The plan is to build a tool that can create 3D models which include all parameters that need to be considered by developers of offshore wind farms.

Press release, March 10, 2014; Image: uni