A Cambridge-based renewables company is to run trials on the 7MW Levenmouth demonstration wind turbine in Fife to capture operational performance data to extend turbine operating lifespan.
Ocean Array Systems (OAS) will use the Offshore Renewable Energy turbine to validate software designed to improve the control strategies of offshore wind turbines.
According to Ocean Array, improved turbine control, adopted farm-wide, could see as much as a 2.4% reduction in the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) of offshore wind.
The company’s TurbineGRID simulation software enables wind farm operators to better predict how turbines respond to atmospheric turbulence, stability and wake interaction at both individual and farm level.
The SALE project – Simulation to enable Asset Life Extension of wind turbines – is funded by Innovate UK and will use production and load sensor data from Levenmouth, combined with wind conditions measured through a met mast and Lidar located at the site.
These will then be compared with the numerical model of the wind conditions and turbine response of the TurbineGRID software to validate the tool.
The Levenmouth turbine load data will come from sensor instrumentation that is to be installed on the turbine’s blades, tower and substructure to monitor its behaviour in real-world conditions.
Nicola Pearson, Commercial Director, Ocean Array Systems, said: “Wake breakdown and interaction are modelled and these innovations enable a more accurate prediction of blade loading and lifetimes. These tools will enable new control strategies to manage turbine interaction, yield and fatigue loading effects.”
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy