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Offshore Wind Energy in Europe
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Offshore Wind Energy in Europe
A. R. HENDERSON
Section Wind Energy, Delft University of Technology, tel. +31-15-278-8092,
email
[email protected]C. Morgan
Garrad Hassan & Partners Ltd, tel: +44-1275-394360,
email: [email protected]
B. Smith
Kvaerner Oil & Gas, tel +44-20-7957-3611, email: [email protected]
SYNOPSIS
After several decades of theoretical developments, desk studies, experimental wind turbines and
prototype windfarms, the first large-scale commercial developments of offshore windfarms are now
being built. To support and accelerate this development, the European Commission is funding a
project, 'Concerted Action on Offshore Wind Energy in Europe' (CA-OWEE), which aims to gather
and distribute knowledge on all aspects of offshore wind energy, including: offshore technology,
electrical integration, economics, environmental impacts and political aspects. The partners are from a
wide range of fields and include developers, utilities, consultants, research institutes and universities.
Information will be freely disseminated through a web site, www.offshorewindenergy.org, printed
reports, and via the EWEA Special Topic Conference on Offshore Wind Energy in Brussels on
December 10th - 12th this year (2001).
INTRODUCTION a lesser extent. One solution, of avoiding land-
use disputes and to reduce the noise and visual
Offshore wind farms promise to become an pollution, is to move the developments
important source of energy in the near future: offshore, which also has a number of other
it is expected that within 10 years, wind parks advantages:
with a total capacity of thousands of availability of large continuous areas, suitable
megawatts will be installed in European seas. for major projects,
This will be equivalent to several large higher wind speeds, which generally increase
traditional coal-fired power stations. Plans are with distance from the shore (Britain is an
currently advancing for such wind parks in exception to this as the speed-up factor over
Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, Belgian, hills means that the best wind resources are
British and Irish waters. where the turbines are also most visible),
Onshore wind energy has grown enormously less turbulence, which allows the turbines to
over the last decade to the point where it harvest the energy more effectively and
generates more than 10% of all electricity in reduces the fatigue loads on the turbine,
certain regions (such as Denmark, Schleswig- lower wind-shear (i.e. the boundary layer of
Holstein in Germany and Gotland in Sweden). slower moving wind close to the surface is
However, this expansion has not been without thinner), thus allowing the use of shorter
problems and the resistance to windfarm towers.
developments experienced in Britain since the
mid 1990s, is now present in other countries to
But against this is the single very important A BRIEF HISTORY
disadvantage of capital cost:
there will be additional cost due to the more The first wind turbine to generate electricity
expensive marine foundations, was a traditional wooden windmill converted
more expensive integration in to the electrical by Poul la Cour in Denmark over 100 years
network and in some cases an increase in the ago. In the early part of the 20th century, there
capacity of weak coastal grids, were further experimental machines but
more expensive installation procedures and serious developments only began with the two
restricted access during construction due to oil shocks in the 1970s, when governments
weather conditions, around the world reacted by directing R&D
limited access for O & M during operation money to alternative fuel sources. The early
which results in an additional penalty of '80s saw major developments in California and
reduced turbine availability and hence reduced the construction of the famous fields of
output. hundreds of small turbines and by the end of
that decade there were 15,000 turbines with a
However the cost of wind turbines is falling total generating capacity of 1,500 MW in that
and is expected to continue doing so over the state (1). The stabilising of the oil price in the
coming decade and once more experience has '80s and resulting reductions in the state
been gained in building offshore projects, the subsidies for windpower, meant that purchases
offshore construction industry is likely to find from the crucial American market dried up and
similar cost-savings. Onshore wind energy is many wind turbine companies withdrew from
an increasingly cost-competitive resource at a the field or went bankrupt. An exception was
stable price compared to conventional power in Denmark, where government support meant
generation, especially when environmental that the knowledge base was not dissolved and
benefits are accounted for. Hence it would the companies there were able to quickly
seem likely that offshore wind energy will also respond when wind energy's fortunes
become competitive in time. Other recovered once more in the early '90s, to the
developments that are likely to support this point where they and their partners dominate
trend are the design of turbines optimised for the market today. It should be pointed out that
the offshore environment, of greater sizes the foundations of renewable energy's fortunes
(maybe up to 10 MW and over 125 m rotor are today based on the solid necessity of
diameter eventually) and with greater alleviating climate change and increased
reliability built-in. At the moment, the largest energy autonomy rather than the fickle nature
production machines have generating of oil prices.
capacities of up to 2.5 MW but machines with Currently there is a total installed capacity of
power outputs of up to 5 MW are planned for approximately 20GW on land and over the last
production by the middle of this decade. The couple of years the annual installation rate has
wind turbine manufacturing industry has been reached 4GW/annum. The average rating of
following its own exponential growth curves turbines being installed is now around 1MW
over the last decade of decreasing costs by per unit internationally, Figure 1. With the
20% and doubling the size of the largest resulting economies of scale, wind energy now
commercially-available turbine every three or competes on price with the traditional
so years. generators, such as coal and nuclear, in areas
The total wind power resources available of rich wind resources.
offshore are vast and will certainly be able to
supply a significant proportion of our
electricity needs in an economic manner.
Earlier studies by Garrad Hassan and
Germanischer Lloyd concluded that a large
proportion of Europe's power could be
supplied from offshore wind turbines (5) (8).
900 4,500 turbine operates slightly below optimum
Average Turbine Size
800
700
4,000
3,500
speed,
Installed Capacity
600 3,000 larger generators for a specific rotor size, to
enable the additionally available energy to be
[MW]
500 2,500
[kW]
400 2,000
300 1,500 efficiently harvested,
200 1,000 high voltage generation, also possible in DC
100 500
0 0 instead of AC,
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 in the longer term, downwind machines with
Year
flexible blades or multiple rotors might
Figure 1: Size & Installation Trends (3) become an option, but engineering effort will
be needed to achieve the theoretical potential.
OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY TODAY 3.2 Grid Integration, Energy Supply &
Financing
Although the challenges of building large
offshore windfarms will be considerable, many Integrating large offshore windfarms into the
of the problems relating to the turbine will electricity grid may pose problems if the
have previously been faced on-land, and coastal network is weak and more advanced
relating to the support structure, by the power control systems may be used to conform
offshore engineering industry. The key point with grid connection requirements. Until
will be to know how to integrate these two now, electrical power was largely supplied by
technologies, as it is all too easy for each large centralised stations, which delivered a
branch of engineering to underestimate the predictable power output to the consumers,
complexities in the other. In fact, the adapted to varying demand patterns. If the
combination is not always equal to the sum of penetration of wind energy, with an inherent
the parts, both in a beneficial and a detrimental stochastic behaviour, increases, additional
sense, hence a cost-saving opportunities may conventional reserve power may be required
be missed and unexpected problems may be to ensure the balance between production and
encountered during construction and operation. consumption.. This may provide opportunities
Avoiding unnecessary costs is especially for the application of new technologies for
important now when offshore wind energy electricity storage combined with more reliable
aims at becoming competitive on price with models for predicting fluctuations from wind
traditional energy sources. energy over longer periods.
Offshore Wind Energy Technology Resources and Economics
The wind turbines being used in current The resources available across the offshore
offshore projects tend to be machines designed regions of Europe are vast, particularly in
for land-use but with modifications, such as a Northern Europe, and are in theory capable of
larger generator, a higher instrumentation supplying all electrical needs of Europe
specification and component redundancy, (though at an uneconomical price). In practice,
particularly of electrical systems. If the market offshore wind energy could become a major
expands as expected, machines designed for source of energy for several countries at a
optimised performance offshore will be competitive price in the medium term.
developed and utilised but it is not certain how So far, all offshore windfarms have been built
they will look. On one hand, the requirements in seas off north European coasts, where there
from an offshore machine differ from those on are large flat and shallow regions a short
land, however the requirement for high distances away from the coast and hence
reliability would suggest the use of well- suitable for development. The continental
proven turbines. Modifications may include: shelf at the Mediterranean Sea falls off much
larger machines, up to 5 MW or 10 MW, faster leaving little space for bottom-mounted
faster rotational speeds than on land, where windfarm developments unless floating wind
noise restrictions generally mean that the energy can overcome its current large cost
disadvantage.
3.4 Activities and Prospects
18
Energy costs for 20 years loan, 5% discount, no
To date, eight small and medium sized 16
RES, UK inflation, recent exchange rates
Size of bubble proportional to farm capacity
offshore windfarms have been built (the first 14
offshore plant consisted of a single wind
energy costs [ECUct / kWh]
12 UK Phase CII, UK Horns Rev, DK (9.2 m/s)
turbine and was abandoned after a fire) and the 10
main details are summarised in Table I. The Vindeby, DK
Lely, NL Bockstigen-Valar, SE
Blyth, UK
8
first and largest offshore windfarms are at Blekinge, SE Thyssen, DE
Nearshore, NL
Vindeby (1993) and Middelgrunden (40 MW) 6 SK Power, DK Middelgrunden, DK
BMFT, DE
respectively, both being located in Denmark. 4
Tuno Knob, DK
2 Opti-OWECS, NL
Scorby Sands, UK (8.4 m/s)
Table I: Existing Offshore Windfarms (2) 0 (9 m/s)
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Installed studies projects
projects
Project reference year of study or project
Location Year Power Location Figure 2: Reduction in Cost (6) (7)
(MW) Last year (2000), three windfarms were built,
1 x 0.22 = in 7 m water, all using MW sized turbines and one, at Blyth,
Nogersund 1991
0.22; 250 m from which is in a location facing one of the most
(SE) (-98)
Windworld shore hostile seas in Europe and will be accompanied
in 3-5 m by an extensive measurement programme.
Vindeby 11 x 0.45 =
1991 water, 1.5 km
(DK) 4.95; Bonus
from shore Currently there are plans for numerous large
in 5-10 m, offshore windfarms, a list is given in Table II
Medemblik 4 x 0.5 = 2;
1994 0.75 km from and many countries have set ambitious targets.
(NL) NedWind
shore
in 3-5 m Table II: Some Planned Offshore
Tunø Knob 10 x 0.5 =
1995 water, 6 km Windfarms
(DK) 5; Vestas
from shore
28 x 0.6 = in 5 m water, Installed Power
Dronten, Location Year
1996 16.8; 20 m from (MW)
(NL) 80 x 2 Vestas =
Nordtank shore Horns Rev (DK) 2002
5 x 0.5 = in 6 m water, 160
Bockstigen 42 x 1.5 Enercon
1998 2.5; 3 km from Lillegrunden (SE) 2002
Valar, (SE) = 63
WindWorld shore
Middelgrun in 3-6 m 21 x 2 NEG
20 x 2 = 40; Klasården (SE) 2002
den (DK) 2000 water, 3 km Mcn. = 42
Bonus Samsø (DK) 2002 22
(7) from shore
in 7-10 m Lübeck (DE) 2002 100
Utgrunden 7 x 1.425 =
2000 water 8 km Schelde (BE) 2002 100
(SE) 10; Enron
from shore Egmond (NL) 2002 100
in 8m water Rødsand (DK) 2003 150
2 x 2 = 4;
Blyth (UK) 2000 800m from Læsø Syd (DK) 2003 150
Vestas
shore Q7 (NL) 2003 60 x 2 = 120
Yttre Schelde (BE) 2003 100
5 x 2 NEG
Stengrund 2001 Scroby Sand (UK) 2003 70
Micon = 10
(SE) Omø Stålgrunde
2004/5 150
(DK)
Electricity production has generally exceeded 13 locations in the
2004 540 turbines
expectations and costs have steadily fallen to UK
the point where offshore wind energy is Gedser (DK) 2006 150
competitive on price with many of the current Kish Bank (EI) ?? 250
onshore developments. Figure 2 illustrates this Arklow Bank (EI) ?? 500
trend for a sample of studies and actual Rostock (D) ?? 50
projects.
3.5 Social Acceptance, Environmental will be freely available through an internet site,
Impact & Politics www.offshorewindenergy.org, a printed
report, and via the EWEA Special Topic
The experiences from current offshore projects Conference on Offshore Wind Energy in
indicate that the social acceptance is closely Brussels on December 10th - 12th this year
connected to the environmental impacts. The (2001).
public concern is specially related to the
impacts on birds and the visual impact and This project divides offshore wind energy into
although the impacts will change somewhat, five clusters of subjects and reviews the recent
when moving further offshore, it is crucial that history and summarise the current state of
aspects like bird migration paths and the visual affairs, relating to:
impact of offshore wind turbines in an • offshore technology, of the wind turbines
otherwise structureless landscape are taking and the support structures,
seriously already from the planning phase. • grid integration, energy supply and
Furthermore, potential effects on fish, marine financing,
mammals, fauna and benthos need to be • resources and economics,
investigated, as the impacts from large scale • activities and prospects,
offshore wind farms (e.g. sound emissions and • social acceptance, environmental impact &
electromagnetic fields from underwater cables) politics.
are currently relatively unknown.
The effect from wind turbines on radar systems The conclusions from these surveys are then
is also an important issue that is currently used to develop recommendations for the
poorly understood, and must be dealt with both future RTD strategy for Europe.
in generic studies and in site-specific The project's 17 partners come from 13
preinvestigations (Environmental Impact countries, thus covering the majority of the
Assessments). These investigations and the European Community's coastline. The
planning process prior to large scale offshore partners cover a wide range of expertise and
projects should be as open as possible and include developers, utilities, consultants,
allow local involvement. research institutes and universities:
The role that public opinion plays should not
• Delft University of Technology, The
be forgotten this time; a very important
Netherlands
difference between the countries where
• Garrad Hassan & Partners, United
onshore wind energy has become widespread
Kingdom
and where it has not become successful is in
public support. Care should be taken that the • Kvaerner Oil & Gas, United Kingdom
detractors are not able to swing public opinion • Energi & Miljoe Undersoegelser (EMU),
against offshore windenergy in those countries Denmark
as well. • Risø National Laboratory, Denmark
• Tractebel Energy Engineering, Belgium
• CIEMAT, Spain
4. CONCERTED ACTION ON • CRES, Greece
OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY IN • Deutsches Windenergie-Institut (DEWI),
EUROPE Germany
• Germanischer Lloyd, Germany
The objectives of the project Concerted Action • ECN, The Netherlands
on Offshore Wind Energy in Europe [CA- • Espace Eolien Developpement (EED),
OWEE] are to define the current state of the art France
of offshore wind energy in Europe through • ENEA, Italy
gathering and evaluation of information from • University College Cork, Ireland
across Europe and to disseminate the resulting • Vindkompaniet i Hemse AB, Sweden
knowledge to all interested, in order to help
• VTT, Finland
stimulate the development of the industry. The
• Baltic Energy Conservation Agency
project is being funded by the European
(BAPE), Poland
Commission and will be completed at the end
of this year (2001). The knowledge gathered
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to acknowledge the
contributions made by all partners in the CA-
OWEE project to this paper.
The project Concerted Action on Offshore
Wind Energy in Europe [CA-OWEE] is being
funded by the European Commission under
contract number NNE5-1999-00562.
REFERENCES
(1) Ackermann, T. & Söder, L., Wind
energy technology and current status: a review,
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews,
Vol. 4, 2000.
(2) Barthelmie, R., A Brief Review of
Offshore Wind Energy Activity in the 1990's,
Wind Engineering, Vol. 22, No. 6, p 265,
1998.
(3) British Wind Energy Association, 26
Spring Street, London W2 1JA, Tel 020 7402
7102, http://www.britishwindenergy.co.uk/
(4) The dawn of micropower, The
Economist, Aug 5th 2000
(5) Germanische Lloyd and Garrad
Hassan, Study of offshore wind energy in the
EC, ETSU Report W/35/00250 and Publ.
Verlag Natürliche Energie JOUR 0072, both
1994.
(6) Kühn M, Ferguson M.C., Göransson
B., Cockerill T.T., Harrison R., Harland L.A.,
Vugts J.H., Wiecherink R. ‘Opti-OWECS;
Structural an Economic Optimisation of
Bottom Mounted Offshore Wind Energy
Convertors’, JOULE III project, Delft
University of Technology, Vols. 0-5, Delft
(NL) August 1998
(7) Sørensen, H. C. et al, Middelgrunden
40 MW offshore wind farm, a prestudy for the
Danish offshore 750 mw wind program,
ISOPE 2000 Conference Seattle, 2000.
(8) Forum for Energy and Development,
“Windforce 10” A blueprint to achieve 10% of
the world’s electricity from wind power by
2020, www.inforse.org
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