Blade Erosion Repair Can Up Annual Energy Production by 2%

An uplift in annual energy production (AEP) of between 1.5 and 2% is possible following the repair of moderate blade erosion, according to the first measurement campaign undertaken on an offshore wind farm under Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s blade leading edge programme (BLEEP).

The measurement campaign, carried out on behalf of ORE Catapult by the Measurement Services Department at RES, in collaboration with Centrica and focused on an offshore wind farm, used LiDAR technology to accurately measure the power performance impact of blade leading edge erosion by assessing performance before and after blade repairs were carried out.

The results will allow owners/operators to optimise their repair and maintenance strategies, balancing cost versus benefit in order to minimise levelised cost of energy impact and maximise revenue, ORE Catapult said. The resultant method will now be used to carry out a further two measurement campaigns as part of the wider collaborative industry programme of works, to validate the results and the methodology used.

For a typical 500MW UK offshore wind farm, a 1.5% uplift in Annual Energy Production (AEP) could amount to as much as £3.5 million increased revenue generation per wind farm. However, this figure is subject to number of turbines, capacity factor, revenue per MWh, and average wind speed.

Andrew Kay, ORE Catapult’s Innovation Manager, said: “The outcomes from this project will help the industry to optimise blade maintenance informed by an understanding of both the cost and the benefit of repair work.

“However, this measurement represents a single result from a single turbine type, site, and level of erosion. As such it is extremely important that further studies are performed to build a more complete picture of how the level of erosion, site, turbine and atmospheric variables influence the impact of erosion on performance.

“The methodology developed and executed as part of this campaign could also be used in the assessment of proactive turbine upgrades such as aerodynamic or control improvements as well as to assess the impact of leading edge protection products on power performance.”