Energy Transformations Energy Transformations
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Energy transformations Offshore Wind OFFSHORE WIND • Offshore wind energy could supply over 20 per cent of the UK’s energy needs by 2050 • The RCUK Energy Programme has a vibrant research portfolio of £14.3 million in wind energy, involving nine major industrial partners • EPSRC support has contributed to advances in wind turbine reliability, control, drive train design, wind farm formation and deployment The UK has a high potential wind and RCUK Energy portfolio the companies directly and other power resource around its coast. (£14.3 million; 1.7 per cent of total)3. funding sources, including the Energy Offshore wind energy generation is The current portfolio of wind energy Technologies Institute (ETI), Innovate a proven technology to capture this projects features collaborations UK (formerly the Technology Strategy resource and is likely to form the with nine major industry partners, Board), and the European Union. bulk of the UK’s renewable energy including Alstom Grid, DONG Energy, deployment in the next 20 to 30 years. E.ON UK, National Renewable Energy The programme has had particular It is estimated that wind energy Centre (Narec), Siemens Wind Power, pre-commercial impact in the areas could supply over 20 per cent of the Vestas, Windurance, formerly MLS of wind turbine reliability, condition 1 UK’s energy needs by 2050 , whilst Control Systems, and the consulting monitoring, turbine pitch and drive helping us to meet the greenhouse engineers DNV GL, formerly Garrad control, blade composite structures, gas emission and renewable energy Hassan, and Romax Technology, offshore wind turbine wake formation targets set out in the 2007 energy together with a number of other and foundation scour, offshore wind 2 white paper . important industrial collaborators. farm layout, network design and Wind energy research is a relatively These projects have led to direct cash high-voltage direct current (HVDC) small but vibrant part of the EPSRC leverage of over £11 million from network technology. Research • The RCUK Energy Programme industrial collaborations have also including INSIGHT, on the monitoring OFFSHORE WIND has invested £18.4 million in wind been formed by the University of of the structural integrity of wind energy research and training Bristol with Vestas on composites, the turbine towers during operation using since 2002 University of Sheffield with Siemens ultrasonic waves. This project was led Wind Power on generators and with by TWI Ltd, and involved the University • The flagship investment has been Vestas on control, and the University of Warwick and multiple industry the SUPERGEN Wind Energy of Durham with DONG Energy on partners. The ultrasonic monitoring Technologies consortium, from wind farm operations. SUPERGEN system was successfully developed March 2014 the SUPERGEN Wind has also played its part in and trialled by TWI and TUV NEL Ltd Wind Hub interacting with other SUPERGEN at an onshore installation in Scotland. • The UK Energy Research Centre networks, particularly SUPERGEN A further jointly funded project, on a has developed modelling and Marine, and has collaborated with direct current micro-grid system for evaluation methods for assessing UKERC in producing a new Wind interfacing multiple wind turbines, the environmental and socio- Road Map, and with the Natural involved the University of Strathclyde, economic impact of offshore Environment Research Council and industry partners Proven Energy energy production technologies, (NERC) through its contacts with the Ltd and Scottish and Southern Energy including offshore wind farms Centre for Environment, Fisheries (SSE) plc. and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) for • NERC and the Department for foundation scour work. EPSRC is the largest public funder Environment, Food & Rural of the Energy Technologies Institute Affairs (Defra) in partnership have funded four projects under the Marine Renewable Energy research programme (£2.4 million), whose aim is to understand the environmental benefits and risks of upscaling offshore renewable energy schemes Wind power generation is a relatively mature technology, although research challenges remain, particularly for the deployment offshore of large wind farms, with the aim of reducing capital and operational costs, increasing performance, and driving down the cost of the generated power. Current research topics include composites, novel turbine designs, drive trains, reliability and array design and control. There are also associated research issues around The consortium has also joined (ETI), and academic groups from environmental impact, equipment and played a major role in the four universities, the Universities deployment and operational development and growth of the of Strathclyde and Sheffield, and management. European Academy of Wind Energy Durham and Cranfield Universities, 5 The RCUK Energy Programme, (EAWE) ; the Principal Investigator have been partners in a number led by EPSRC, has invested £18.4 of SUPERGEN Wind, Professor of the major offshore wind energy million in wind energy research and Bill Leithead, was President of the projects the ETI has supported to training since its inception in 20024. organisation from 2010 to 2012. This date. These projects have included The flagship investments in the field involvement resulted in the expansion NOVA, looking at a novel vertical sponsored by the programme have of the Academy to include the UK, axis wind turbine developed by Wind been the successive generations of Norway, Sweden, France and Italy, Power Ltd (Strathclyde, Cranfield the Sustainable Power Generation with EAWE playing a major role in the and Sheffield); Helm Wind, looking and Supply (SUPERGEN) Wind Annual European Association of Wind at the potential cost savings in the Energy Conferences from 2010-2014 Energy Technologies consortium, development of an offshore wind in Brussels, Warsaw, Copenhagen, building on and allied to previous power station (Strathclyde); and the Vienna and Barcelona. investments made by EPSRC and Condition Monitoring Programme, the other Research Councils. More EPSRC has sponsored a number examining causes of faults in details of this programme are given of offshore wind projects in offshore wind turbines (Strathclyde in the following sections. Important collaboration with Innovate UK, and Durham). UK Energy Research Centre The UK Energy Research Centre investigated. (UKERC), sponsored by the RCUK Building on Energy Programme, carries these work out world-class research into strands, UKERC sustainable future energy systems. researchers UKERC’s interdisciplinary, whole have used an systems research informs UK area within the policy development and research North Sea off strategy. Under its Phase 2 Energy the east coast of and Environment theme, the UKERC England as a test team developed modelling and bed to forecast evaluation methods for assessing the the potential of environmental and socio-economic offshore wind to provide ecosystem pressures to ease and for new market impact of offshore energy production goods and services to society, entrants to provide competitive technologies, including offshore wind taking into account downstream pressure on costs. However, there farms and other energy activities implications. UKERC also carried out are still a number of factors placing such as carbon capture and storage research on offshore network design upward pressure on costs, not least (CCS). This work allows evaluation under their Phase 2 Energy Supply the implications of moving to even of the cumulative impacts of energy research theme. more challenging locations.8 A key technologies and interactions challenge is to reconcile the scale 6,7 A UKERC technology and policy with other coastal activities. The and pace of development desired for assessment on the cost of offshore potential of offshore wind farms to UK offshore wind with the potential provide socio-economic benefits wind in UK waters was published growth rate that the supply chain through multiple uses and improved in 2012. The authors of the report can sustain without creating upward ecosystem services – including concluded: ‘In the period to 2025… pressure on costs.9 habitat creation, fish stock recovery there is potential for innovation and recreational fishing – was also to reduce costs, for supply chain NERC-DEFRA MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAMME (2011-2015) The Marine Renewable Energy considered using state-of-the-art above and under water, ranging research programme is a four-year modelling techniques to assess the from radar to sonar and in-situ collaborative programme with a levels of ecological impact across a measurements, to be deployed over budget of £2.4 million funded by range of key ecological parameters. two years at three key sites around Natural Environment Research Understanding how marine the UK. Council and the Department for renewable device operations These measurements will feed into Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. influence fine scale habitat use & models of ecological interactions The overall aim of the research behaviour of marine vertebrates and habitat preferences, allowing programme is to understand the led by the University of St Andrews. predictions of the multiple effects environmental benefits and risks of This project focuses on causal links of large offshore renewable energy upscaling offshore wind and wave between offshore renewable energy device arrays. energy schemes on the quality of devices and changes in the fine-scale Quantifying benefits and impacts marine bio-resources