Analysis of offshore wind energy resources of China

With the economic development, the problems of energy shortage become increasingly severe. As offshore wind energy has advantages, namely it is clean, renewable, not accounting for land area, without noise pollution, with large reserves, etc., which gradually attracts people＇s attention. In this paper, China＇s offshore annual average wind field and monthly average wind field under the mean climate state conditions are obtained, and the corresponding wind density distribution is calculated. China＇s offshore wind energy reserves and distribution conditions through the analysis of wind energy density distribution are summarized, and finally some suggestions for coastal offshore wind energy development and utilization in China are put forward.

Evaluation Method for Offshore Wind Energy Resources Using Scatterometer and Weibull Parameters

The study discusses accuracy evaluation methods for offshore wind energy resources by using scatterometer SeaWinds-derived wind speed and Weibull parameters. The purpose of this study is to evaluate accuracies of SeaWinds-derived Weibull mean wind speed and energy density by considering uncertainties inherent in SeaWinds wind speed estimates. In this study, 1159 SeaWinds-derived wind speeds covering the KEO buoy are used for estimating two Weibull parameters, scale and shape. On the other hand, observed wind speeds from 2004 to 2008 at the KEO buoy are used for simulating three kinds of wind speeds in order to quantify some uncertainties inherent in SeaWinds-derived wind speeds. It is found that uncertainties associated with wind speed estimates （operational wind speed range, sampling time） show small differences in scale, shape and Weibull mean wind speed except energy density among the simulated datasets. Furthermore, the upper and lower bounds of 90% confidence interval corresponding to SeaWinds number of observations indicate 4-2.5% error of Weibull mean wind speed and 4-6.8% error of energy density, respectively.

Caribbean Sea Offshore Wind Energy Assessment and Forecasting

The exploitation of wind energy is rapidly evolving and is manifested in the ever-expanding global network of offshore wind energy farms.For the Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean Sea(CS),harnessing this mature technology is an important first step in the transition away from fossil fuels.This paper uses buoy and satellite observations of surface wind speed in the CS to estimate wind energy resources over the 2009–201911-year period and initiates hour-ahead forecasting using the long short-term memory(LSTM)network.Observations of wind power density(WPD)at the 100-m height showed a mean of approximately 1000 W/m^(2) in the Colombia Basin,though this value decreases radially to 600–800 W/m^(2) in the central CS to a minimum of approximately 250 W/m^(2) at its borders in the Venezuela Basin.The Caribbean Low-Level Jet(CLLJ)is also responsible for the waxing and waning of surface wind speed and as such,resource stability,though stable as estimated through monthly and seasonal coefficients of variation,is naturally governed by CLLJ activity.Using a commercially available offshore wind turbine,wind energy generation at four locations in the CS is estimated.Electricity production is greatest and most stable in the central CS than at either its eastern or western borders.Wind speed forecasts are also found to be more accurate at this location,and though technology currently restricts offshore wind turbines to shallow water,outward migration to and colonization of deeper water is an attractive option for energy exploitation.

Scour and liquefaction issues for anchors and other subsea structures in floating offshore wind farms: A review

This article reviews scouring and liquefaction issues for anchor foundations of floating offshore wind farms.The review is organized in two sections:(1)the scouring issues for drag-embedment anchors(DEAs)and other subsea structures associated with DEAs such as tensioners,clump weights,and chains in floating offshore wind farms;and(2)the liquefaction issues for the same types of structures,particularly for DEAs.The scouring processes are described in detail,and the formulae and design guidelines for engineering predictions are included for quantities like scour depth,time scale,and sinking due to general shear failure of the bed soil caused by scoui\The latter is furnished with numerical examples.Likewise,in the second section,the liquefaction processes are described with special reference to residual liquefaction where pore-water pressure builds up in undrained soils(such as fine sand and silt)under waves,leading to liquefaction of the bed soil and precipitating failure of DEAs and their associated subsea structures.An integrated mathematical model to deal with liquefaction around and the resulted sinking failure of DEAs,introduced in a recent study,has been revisited.Implementation of the model is illustrated with a numerical example.It is believed that the present review and the existing literatures from the"neighboring"fields form a complementary source of information on scour and liquefaction around foundations of floating offshore wind farms.

Criterion of aerodynamic performance of large-scale offshore horizontal axis wind turbines

With the background of offshore wind energy projects, this paper studies aerodynamic performance and geometric characteristics of large capacity wind turbine rotors （1 to 10 MW）, and the main characteristic parameters such as the rated wind speed, blade tip speed, and rotor solidity. We show that the essential criterion of a high- performance wind turbine is a highest possible annual usable energy pattern factor and a smallest possible dimension, capturing the maximum wind energy and producing the maximum annual power. The influence of the above-mentioned three parameters on the pattern factor and rotor geometry of wind turbine operated in China＇s offshore meteoro- logical environment is investigated. The variation patterns of aerodynamic and geometric parameters are obtained, analyzed, and compared with each other. The present method for aerodynamic analysis and its results can form a basis for evaluating aerodynamic performance of large-scale offshore wind turbine rotors.

Design and Evaluation Tool for Operations and Maintenance Logistics Concepts for Offshore Wind Power Plants

In this article, the authors give an overview of different logistics concepts for operation and maintenance of OWPP （offshore wind power plants）. These can be generally classified into onshore based and offshore based concepts. The operation of OWPPs can still be improved as research has shown that the availability of OWPPs is low compared to onshore wind power plants. There are a few tools to calculate operating costs and to evaluate the different concepts. However, most tools have a weak focus on logistics although logistics account for a big share of the costs. The tool the authors are introducing in this article focuses on the logistics processes. It is first explained and then tested with an OWPP scenarin

Numerical Analysis of a Gravity Substructure for 5 MW Offshore Wind Turbines Due to Soil Conditions

In order to increase the gross generation of wind turbines, the size of a tower and a rotor-nacelle becomes larger. In other words, the substructure for offshore wind turbines is strongly influenced by the effect of wave forces as the size of substructure increases. In addition, since a large offshore wind turbine has a heavy dead load, the reaction forces on the substructure become severe, thus very firm foundations should be required. Therefore, the dynamic soil-structure interaction has to be fully considered and the wave forces acting on substructure accurately calculated. In the present study, ANSYS AQWA is used to evaluate the wave forces. Moreover, the substructure method is applied to evaluate the effect of soil-structure interaction. Using the wave forces and the stiffness and damping matrices obtained from this study, the structural analysis of the gravity substructure is carried out through ANSYS mechanical. The structural behaviors of the strength and deformation are evaluated to investigate an ultimate structural safety and serviceability of gravity substructure for various soil conditions. Also, the modal analysis is carried out to investigate the resonance between the wind turbine and the gravity substructure.

Analysis of Offshore Wind Power： Application to Southern Thailand

This paper presents an analysis of a pre-feasibility study of a 10 MW offshore wind power project in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. The wind speeds at the hub heights of large scale wind turbine generators （WTG）, i.e. 80-100 m, were extrapolated using monthly mean wind shear coefficients and the l/7th exponent. Using WAsP 9.0, the annual energy production from several models of offshore wind farms using different WTG was analyzed. The capacity factor and the cost of energy were then computed. Using best available estimates, the analysis shows that the estimated annual mean offshore wind speeds at 80-100 m were in the range of 6.4 and 8.3 m/s. The annual energy production by the wind farm from nine models of wind turbine generators were in the range of 20-39 GWh/year, corresponding to a capacity factor in the range of 26-46%, while the cost of energy was 12-15 US cent/kWh.

Numerical Investigations on the Aerodynamic Performance of Wind Turbine： Downwind Versus Upwind Configuration

Although the upwind configuration is more popular in the field of wind energy, the downwind one is a promising type for the offshore wind energy due to its special advantages. Different configurations have different aerodynamic performance and it is important to predict the performance of both downwind and upwind configurations accurately for designing and developing more reliable wind turbines. In this paper, a numerical investigation on the aerodynamic performance of National Renewable Energy Laboratory （NREL） phase V1 wind turbine in downwind and upwind configurations is presented. The open source toolbox OpenFOAM coupled with arbitrary mesh interface （AMI） method is applied to tackle rotating problems of wind turbines. Two 3D numerical models of NREL phase VI wind turbine with downwind and upwind configurations under four typical working conditions of incoming wind velocities are set up for the study of different unsteady characteristics of the downwind and upwind configurations, respectively. Numerical results of wake vortex structure, time histories of thrust, pressure distribution on the blade and limiting streamlines which can be used to identify points of separation in a 3D flow are presented. It can be concluded that thrust reduction due to blade-tower interaction is small for upwind wind turbines but relatively large for downwind wind turbines and attention should be paid to the vibration at a certain frequency induced by the cyclic reduction for both configurations. The results and conclusions are helpful to analyze the different aerodynamic performance of wind turbines between downwind and upwind configurations, providing useful references for practical design of wind turbine.

Power recovery method for testing the efficiency of the ECD of an integrated generation unit for offshore wind power and ocean wave energy

Offshore wind power and ocean wave energy are clean,renewable and rich resources.The integrated generation unit for the two

Smart load control of the large-scale offshore wind turbine blades subject to wake effect

The smart fatigue load control of a large-scale wind turbine blade subject to wake effect was numerically investigated in this paper. The performances were evaluated and compared at selected typical wind speeds within the whole operational region under three turbine layout strategies, i.e., column, row and array arrangements, together with a single turbine case as reference, utilizing our newly developed aero-servo-elastic platform. It was observed that not only the blade fatigue loads but the stabilities of power and collective pitch angle were effectively controlled for all cases, especially at the highest studied hub velocity of20 m/s, leading to the averaged reduction percentages in the standard deviations of the flapwise root moment, the flapwise tip deflection and the root damage equivalent load, of about 30.0 %, 20.0 % and 20.0 %, respectively. Furthermore, the control effectiveness gradually lessened in the sequences of single, column, row and array cases, with successively increasing effective turbulence intensity,within regions II and III. The performances in region III,associated with the impaired flow separation on the blade by the effective pitching action, were much better than those in region II, related to enhanced flow detachment. In addition,at the rated wind velocity, the control for the array case was superior over other three cases, which was thought to be originated from the more pitch activities to impair the uncontrolled flow separation on the blade surface.