Experiments. Validate the design tool (Part 5 – WP 5)

The objective of the work package is to validate that the integrated offshore wind farm design tool is accurate and demonstrated that the integrated wind farm design tool is valuable to the industry. For the validation, dedicated experiments are being performed and the results are distributed. For the demonstration, scenarios will be defined. Both involve strong cooperation of industrial partners in the project. The tools that are integrated are models to describe wakes, large scale wind farm impacts, electrical infrastructure, the atmospheric boundary layer and other models.

Ther three objectives are:

  1. Deliver the experimental data to validate the integrated offshore  wind farm design tool from measurements in the largest offshore wind farm existing today
  2. Validate that the developed tool is accurate – by means of comparison with measurements
  3. Demonstrate that the tool is useful to the industrial partners – by calculating scenarios of large wind farm clusters in close collaboration  with industrial partners

The R&D activities are divided into several tasks:

WP5.1 - Experiment

  • In the scope of a forthcoming German research project, ForWind and BARD are planning a comprehensive measurement campaign in the largest offshore wind farm to date, the 400 MW wind farm ‘BARD offshore 1’ currently under construction. The planned measurements will include long-range lidar inflow and wake measurements with high temporal and spatial resolution as well as high altitude wind profiling.
  • For the validation of the wind farm wake models, Fraunhofer will carry out a measurement campaign with ship based lidar measurements at available distances from near to far downwind in the wake of at a large offshore wind farm, e.g. ‘BARD offshore 1’.
  • The production data from ‘BARD offshore 1’ or another wind farm and their interactions are used for validation.

WP5.2 - Validation

  • Datasets of wake effects within wind farms and in between wind farms are delivered from the Experiments in WP5.1.
  • The wake models are compared to the measurements and possible improvements are identified.
  • Datasets of electrical loses in wind farms – for instance from the experiments in WP5.1 are delivered and used for the validation of electrical models like the ECN EeFarm model.
  • The effect of mesoscale meteorology on wind farm operation and yield are measured and compared to the integrated wind farm design tools.

WP5.3 - Demonstration

  • A base scenario which considers future wind farms with characteristics similar to present operating wind farms, and which assume a constant wind climate which is site specific for the regional domains.
  • Additional scenarios where different sized wind farms are considered which include floating and up-scaled wind turbines in variable locations and at different wind farm dimensions.
  • A set of likely scenarios for possible future wind farm clusters to assess the energy yield on short and long time scale.

 

Outcomes are reports on validation of the wake models, on mesoscale effects on wind farm energy yield reported and on base scenario for simulation of clusters with constant wind climate. Also a report on the value of the integrated wind farm cluster design tool will be outcome of the work.

 

Work package leader:

Work package partners: