aau wind - challenge driven research

A A U W I N DC H A L L E N G E D R I V E N R E S E A R C H

A A L B O R G U N I V E R S I T Y

2 W I N D E N E R G Y R E S E A R C H A T A A U

C H A L L E N G E D R I V E N R E S E A R C H 3

Aalborg University is located in the middle of a living wind power lab in close proximity to both Siemens Wind Power with the world’s largest wind turbine blade factory and Bladt Industries who manufactures offshore wind turbine foun-dations. From our establishment in 1974 and till today, Aalborg University has been involved in promoting a green agenda and developing safer and more efficient solutions. Our research has been crucial in the process of Denmark becom-ing the European country that produces the highest share of wind power in relation to our total power consumption. In 2013, more than 33 % of our power came from wind turbines and 656 new wind turbines joined the power grid. More than half of them were located offshore.

Wind power has gone from alternative to main-stream power source across the globe – from pure idealism to big business. To a great extent, Aalborg University has made our mark on the

agenda in the development we are witnessing today. Now, wind power is becoming a crucial driver for growth.

Even though some consider wind power a mod-ern technology with a great financial potential, it is no secret that the wind industry is expe-riencing tremendous pressure for a reduction in Cost of Energy. Production and distribution of wind power must become better, safer and cheaper. This demand continuous development of innovative solutions and places demands on the industry as well as on the suppliers to the industry.

In this process, Aalborg University is a globally-oriented partner who offers world-class re-search, a unique tradition for innovative coopera-tion with local and international companies, and education of engineers that is carefully balanced the companies’ demand for manpower.

For many years and in line with the general inter-nationalisation of energy systems and markets, the AAU has been strongly engaged in interna-tional projects and network organisations. At the same time, the AAU has close connections with the global wind industry in Northern Europe, including manufactures such as VESTAS and Siemens Wind Power, and energy companies such as DONG Energy.

I hope that both large and small companies will be inspired by this catalogue of applied wind research to work together with Aalborg University.

Eskild Holm Nielsen I Head of FacultyFaculty of Engineering and Science

FOREWORD:

AALBORG UNIVERSITY: YOUR STRONG INNOVATION PARTNER

4 C H A L L E N G E D R I V E N R E S E A R C H

The research of “preventive maintenance” is just one of many projects which Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering John Dalsgaard Sørensen keeps track of. It is crucial that the research within this area succeeds if the wind industry’s goals of an expenditure costs reduc-tion in relation to production of wind power are to be reduced by up to 50 % in 2020, compared to 2010.

- Our research is about risk-based methods for planning, or what you would call “preven-tive maintenance”. It’s about knowing when we would benefit from maintaining the wind turbine when the weather allows instead of waiting for it to break down. Then it could take weeks to have it repaired due to bad weather, says John Dalsgaard Sørensen.

The research takes place in close cooperation with members of the wind turbine industry in both Denmark and abroad and in relation to several national and international research pro-jects. The research is funded by the EU, Forsk-ningsrådene, Innovation Fund Denmark, and the wind industry.

- It is almost impossible to get research funded, unless the industry is involved. The company normally handles the commercial aspects while AAU performs the research. At the moment, I am involved in several projects concerning reliability and operation & maintenance of wind turbine blades where Dong, Vattenfall, and E.ON are involved. We are also involved in a North Da-nish industrial network, Hub North, where AAU plays an important role in the enhancement of our cooperation with small and medium sized companies, says Sørensen.

Approx 200 academics at AAU are involved in several different areas within energy research, including 80 PhD students. The rest are tenures, Post.Doc.s, and project employed academics.

Wind Technology Research at AAUAt the Department of Mechanical and Manufac-turing Engineering, researchers are exploring how the strength of turbine blades can be calcu-lated. At the Department of Energy Technology, focus is on power electronics, regulation of the turbine, and of the power grid, while the Depart-ment of Electronic Systems, the Section for Au-

tomation and Control, research is centred on the control of blades and wind farms.

- At the Department of Energy Technology, re-searchers are looking at the problems related to connecting turbines to the grid and the overall framework for getting all the energy to the con-sumers. This is where the Department of Develop-ment and Planning comes into the picture. They are working on the environmental standards for installing wind turbines as well as integration of wind power with other energy resources. At the Department of Civil Engineering, we try to dimen-sion foundations and towers to handle the stress that they are exposed to in terms of natural forces. We look at safety and reliability. At the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, the logistic aspects of manufacturing, installing, and operating are relevant, concludes Sørensen.

∞ John Dalsgaard Sørensen | ProfessorDepartment of Civil Engineering

Phone : +45 9940 8581Email : [email protected]

WIND RESEARCH GATHERS KNOW-HOW FROM MANY RESEARCH AREASThere is a lot of money at stake when a wind turbine is produced, installed, put into operation, and connected to the grid. Today, it costs up to 30 % of the price of wind power if an offshore wind turbine breaks down and needs repair work. Research at Aalborg University helps the industry avoid long-term repairs and expensive bills.


COST OF ENERGY DOWN BY 50 % IN 2020

Many factors influence the process from the time when a wind turbine is manufactured and till it is installed. The construction must be reliable, so that the turbine does not break during the first storm. Particularly costs related to life span prolongation must be reduced, as operation costs account for up to 25-30 % of the cost of energy.

The cost of operating the Danish wind turbines are too high. A report from Megavind, a partnership between research institutions and the Danish wind industry, points out that the cost of energy of power from wind turbines must be reduced by 50 % before 2020. John Dalsgaard Sørensen, Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at AAU, is an expert on risk analysis, focusing on handling uncertainties concerning the reliability of wind turbines and on methods for estimating operation costs during the turbine’s lifespan. The goal of his research is to identify strategies and solutions for the problem of reducing the cost of energy from Danish wind turbines.

- In general, the more material that is used for the construction, the more expensive and the more reliable the turbine is. When calculating the reliability of the turbine versus the costs for materials and production, one must also consider an operation phase including costs for service, inspection and repairs, if the turbine is not sufficiently reliable. Basi-cally, it is about optimising the level of safety versus the consequences of component failure, e.g. in the blades, tower or foundation. Add to this the significance of reliability of the control system as well as all the electrical and mechanical components in the nacelle. If they break, the turbine stops running and cannot produce power. And this costs money, says John Dalsgaard Sørensen.

Statistics, Probability and Measuring EquipmentMeasurements performed at different locations and complex mathe-matical formulas based on statistics and applied calculus of probability are to ensure that the wind turbines of the future are more economical.

At the Department of Civil Engineering, research is carried out in the fields of reliability and risk assessment, but also in modulating the wind conditions.

- If you multiply the probability of failure with the consequences in Danish kroner, you have what is generally known as risk, something you want to minimise. In addition to our mathematical formulas, much measuring equipment is installed in turbines in order to collect data on the stress caused by the wind. The more measurements we have, the fewer precautions are necessary. If we look at the problem of reducing the cost of energy, one of our biggest challenges is that turbines now have to be installed further away from land, i.e. in deeper waters, which requires even more precautions. It is a difficult balance to achieve: Producing a low-cost wind turbine with relatively poor reliability that may cost a lot to operate in the long run, or producing a more reliable, but expensive turbine which can be expected to have lower operation costs. This is one of the areas that we are looking into at the moment, says John Dalsgaard Sørensen.

WIND POWER INDUSTRY:



REDUCES COSTS BY 30 %

COST OF ENERGY DOWN BY 50 % IN 2020

A new type of foundation for offshore wind turbines developed by Aalborg University in cooperation with a private company is about to revolutionise the offshore sector. Far less environmental impact and a reduction of installation costs with up to one third of the total cost of installation are significant factors that have secured the invention huge international attention.

Both Danish and international media have cove-red the bucket foundation, as it has been named, and the development of the commercial product is being followed with great interest round the world, particularly within the international wind power and offshore industries. The interest is mainly due to the fact that the industry is chal-lenged in two ways: Partly because of an urgent need to reduce the costs related to installation and operation of offshore wind turbines; partly due to a wish to reduce the industry’s effect on the maritime environment, also a political issue. The large energy companies regard the bucket foundation as the foundation of the future.

Cheaper and BetterThe main reason is that the bucket foundation will be much cheaper than existing foundation types, because it consists of less steel, which also makes transportation to the offshore wind farms much easier. In addition the bucket foundation is reusable. In principle, the bucket foundation is a large, singular steel container measuring 43 meters in height and 12 meters in diameter. The foundation is manufactured on land and transported out to sea, where it – without use of heavy machinery – virtually

installs itself by “sucking” into the seabed by aid of a powerful negative pressure. To remove the foundation, a positive pressure is applied. Tra-ditional foundations are blasted away, a noisy procedure that disturbs fisk and sea creatures in the area. Pieces of steel are then left on the ocean floor.

- Beside from heavily reducing the costs of pro-duction and installation, the bucket foundation is more environmentally friendly. In Germany, it is no longer allowed to install offshore wind turbine foundations using a pile driver, if the noise level exceeds a certain limit, because it disturbs the maritime environment, explains Lars Bo Ibsen of the Department of Civil Engineering at Aalborg University. He is one of the inventors behind the bucket foundation.

Foundation of the FutureThe project began when a small private compa-ny, Universal Foundation (then Marine Business Development), addressed the AAU with the idea of the bucket foundation. This was in 2001, and the product has since been developed to a point where is it ready for large scale tests. Smaller test installations have taken place over the years

and shown great potential. One bucket founda-tion has been installed off the coast of Frederiks-havn in 2001 and is still in perfect condition. Today, the project is facing its big, commercial breakthrough. The biggest challenge right now is preparing the company for handling large orders for turbine foundations for offshore wind farms. This not only requires the right equipment for production, but also capital and fine tuning of the production processes, but the market potential is there: - When the bucket foundation can be mass-produced, it will help create many Danish jobs because the potential is huge, says Lars Bo Ibsen. - The foundation normally accounts for approx 30 % of the price of an offshore turbine, the equivalent of 15 M DKK. An installed bucket foundation will amount to approx 10-12 M DKK. Lars Bo Ibsen estimates that the foundations can be used on 90 % off all seabed types.

∞ Lars Bo Ibsen | ProfessorDepartment of Civil Engineering

Phone: +45 2257 0060Email: [email protected]

THE BUCKET FOUNDATION:



LOSING WEIGHT:

WIND TURBINES GROW LIGHTER AND STRONGER

Longer, larger and lighter – wind turbines continue to grow and their designs become ever more sophisticated. At Aalborg University, researchers work intensely to develop designs in composite materials that weigh less, are stronger and make wind turbines increasingly more energy efficient.


A wind turbine blade is a highly complicated product which constantly presents optimisation potential for producing wind turbine power that is competitive with fossil fuels. The ambition is always to make the blades longer and larger in order to produce more power. At the same time, keeping the weight to a minimum continues to be a focal point in order to minimise the strain and the overall price of the wind turbine. Conse-quently, researchers work intensely to develop new material composi-tions, structural designs and computer-based models which will make the constructions lighter while strength and stiffness are maintained or improved.

Composite Materials at the Highest LevelThe use of composite materials for wind turbine blades has steadily increased during recent years, and today the blades are usually made from light composite materials such as plastics, reinforced with glass and carbon fibres. Professor Erik Lund, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, is world-famous for his research within op-timisation of composite materials. Through computer-based mechanics, he is researching how to advance materials for use in large wind turbine blades and other products.

- The material consumption in future constructions must be minimised while the constructions are made lighter and stronger. The right combina-tion of lightness, strength and durability is a key competitive parameter within the industry. Consequently, the properties of the composite con-structions are constantly pushed towards the edge of their capacity, says Erik Lund.

The Strength Is In the DetailTiny design details together with the complete blade structure determine the strength and lifetime of a wind turbine blade. This fact requires that you work on all levels from the microscopic material level to the structural blade level of e.g. a 75 metres long and 25 ton heavy wind turbine blade.

- In order to understand and model the cause of strength failure, we carry out mechanical lab testing together with computer-based model development by recreating strain situations on e.g. critical parts of the blade construction. In this way, the blade is more easily optimised and can be customised to a desired structural behaviour, explains Lars Chr. T. Overgaard, Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and previous Manager of blade development at Siemens Wind Power.

The Blade Should Be InnovatedThe researchers at Aalborg University constantly improve their ability to design enhanced wind turbine blades. They work closely with various wind turbine manufacturers who always want their existing models to be improved and thus new models are established in order to predict the

strength of the design details. However, Lars Chr. T. Overgaard believes it is time that the wind turbine industry rethinks and innovates the wind turbine blade:

- These are exciting times for composite materials and structures. During the past decades, Denmark has accumulated a massive amount of know-ledge within production of the world’s largest composite structures. At the same time, computer-based models have improved significantly. Never-theless, the structural blade design hasn’t changed much in decades. And so, from my perspective, it’s only natural that we now consolidate our knowledge in innovative production procedures and blade designs instead of continuing to build on existing methods and designs. This would obviously be both challenging and costly, and at the same time, the wind turbine industry moves so fast that there’s no time to rethink. This forces us to keep working within the same framework as we have always done.

Blades Must Lose More WeightNo one doubts that wind power plays a vital role in the shift from fos-sil fuels to renewable energy sources in Denmark. However, in order for wind power to beat fossil fuels in energy production, blades must be made lighter and more efficient.

- At the best onshore locations, the price of wind power is actually compe-titive with the general power market prices. However, most of these loca-tions have already been occupied by existing wind turbines. Consequently, the only choice left for power companies is often to situate wind farms in areas with less wind or at offshore locations. As a result, the cost price of produced power still differs greatly from that of e.g. fossil fuels. This is where the weight and structural behaviour of the wind turbine blades play a vital role. We must reduce their weight while maintaining or im-proving their strength, and, at the same time, increase energy production, concludes Lars Chr. T. Overgaard.

∞ Erik Lund | ProfessorDepartment of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering


∞ Lars Chr. T. Overgaard | Assoc. Prof.Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering


WIND TURBINES GROW LIGHTER AND STRONGER


OFFSHORE WIND FARM TECHNOLOGY

CONTROL SYSTEMS:

The speed of the wind cannot be controlled. Instead, researchers at Aal-borg University are trying to adapt the turbines to the uncontrollable wind. The better the researchers are at predicting and controlling the turbine reactions and adaptations to the wind, the more performance and energy turbines can produce.

- Our scientific work addresses multiple levels of control and automation systems for wind turbines. We are looking at the wind farm as a whole and at each turbine, says Thomas Bak, Professor, Department of Electronic Systems (Automation & Control).

One result is a model that calculates the wind speeds in wind farms. The model uses the industrially available measurements from the turbine and produces the optimal estimate of the wind speed in the wings of the cov-ered area. This estimate is the basis for models of regulation that can be used to describe how a wind turbine affects turbines behind it, and is thus the basis for optimum control at the park level.

Researchers at Aalborg University work closely together across depart-ments, together with the students and with the industry to provide solu-tions to control and exploit the wind most efficiently in large wind farms built out at sea in recent years.

Better offshore turbines needed Offshore wind turbines should be more reliable than onshore turbines because the cost of operating the offshore turbines is significantly higher. However, the offshore turbines have greater effect in the power system than the existing onshore turbines. Therefore, the Department

of Energy develops new generator and power electronics systems for offshore wind farms and offshore grids.

- To develop a comprehensive, optimal control that maximizes the col-lection of power and reduce congestion and loss of wind farms, we are researching the optimal design, optimal operation and control as well as error forecasts for offshore wind turbines. In the future, technology for storing energy will be the solution that can ensure a stable flow of power. However, for saving energy a cost-effective method is not yet developed, says Zhe Chen, Professor at the Department of Energy.

The goal is to develop new methods to control the individual wind tur-bine to reduce fluctuations in power production, prevent fatigue in the design and improve power quality.

∞ Thomas Bak | ProfessorDepartment of Electronic Systems

Phone: +45 9940 8701 Email: [email protected]

∞ Zhe Chen | ProfessorDepartment of Energy Technology

Phone: +45 9940 9255Email: [email protected]

The new frontier of the wind industry is large-scale offshore wind farms. Although the research is promising, considerable research and development tasks remain before it reaches its full potential in terms of an efficient, stable, safe, predictable and controllable supply of energy.


OFFSHORE WIND FARM TECHNOLOGY

THE INTELLIGENT POWER GRID OF THE FUTURE

Half of Denmark’s entire energy supply is to be generated from wind power by 2020. This poses a string of challenges, first of which is that electricity consumption is rising, in part due to the growing popularity of electric cars and heat pumps. Each of these alone consumes around the same amount of power as an average Danish household. Secondly, the availability of wind does not always correspond to the times of peak demand. Therefore we need to use the power that is generated in the most effective manner.

SMARTGRID:

The devil is in the details – and Birgitte Bak-Jens-en and her colleagues at the Institute for Energy Technology are very much aware of this fact.

- We’re focused on the technical details inside a wind turbine and not at least on the transmission of power into energy systems such as district heating. We’re able to simulate details about transmission capacity and quality in order to make clear that the power grid is dimensioned correctly, explains Birgitte Bak-Jensen, Associate Professor at the Institute for Energy Technology.

Wind, and therefore wind derived electricity sup-ply, is greatest during the night, however this is obviously not the period of highest demand. And so the latest research area which Birgitte Bak-Jensen and her colleagues are diving into is the interplay and integration between power production, district heating plants, and the gas grid. It would be clever if excess wind power could be transformed in to hydrogen and used in the natural gas grid. Or if hydrogen could be stored via fuel cells and, at a later time, used by cars that run on hydrogen technologies.

- It would demand many and detailed studies in components and systems to get the most effec-tive and smart utilisation of wind power, says Bak-Jensen.

Smart Grid Requires CooperationThe growing number of heat pumps and electric cars is expected to increase Danish electricity consumption twofold, or possibly even threefold, over the next 10 to 15 years. One possible solu-tion would be to expand the existing power grid substantially. The smarter solution however, would be to adjust our consumption to ease the pressure on the grid at peak times. This option will not only enable savings for the consumer but also bring us one step closer to a future without the need for fossil fuels.

To achieve this, we need smart management of our power grid – also referred to as ‘smart grid’. There are various ways to achieve this, but one thing is certain – creating the ideal smart grid requires knowledge and expertise from a broad range of scientific sectors. In order to realise the Danish dream of operating a smart grid, it

needs to be based on the broad collaboration of researchers across several institutes and universities, as well as business and industry re-presentatives, e.g. IT specialists and ICT experts.

- At Aalborg University, we have researched the smart grid of the future extensively, leading to a broad collaboration between researchers across various institutes, including energy technology, telecommunication, energy planning, and com-puter science. The benefit of this collaboration is that as researchers from other fields contribute with their knowledge and expertise, it enables us to examine ideas from all aspects, minimising time wasted on ideas that ultimately won’t be vi-able, concludes Bak-Jensen.

∞ Birgitte Bak-Jensen | Assoc. Prof.Department of Energy Technology

Phone : +45 9940 9274 Email : [email protected]


TRANSITION TO WIND POWER DEPENDS ON POWER ELECTRONICS

If our power supply in the not too distant future is to be sourced primarily from wind power, Denmark must have two equally key fields of focus: Reducing our consumption and optimising our power production. This requires advanced power electronics.

Our everyday lives are ever more reliant on electricity. At the domestic level, we see a continual increase in the use of smart phones, computers, and other gadgets that run on rechargeable batteries. Heating, cooling, and ventilation also use a lot of power, and our cars are being made to include more and more elec-tronic functions. At the industrial level, a high proportion of automation is run by electricity and the transport sector is also gradually be-coming more electronic.

Electricity Galore What all these things have in common is that their power supply requires conversion from one current type to another. Examples include a computer which is charged with mains electricity from off the power grid, requiring conversion from alternating current to direct current. Or solar energy which starts out as direct current being converted into alternating current before it can be transferred onto the

power grid. This conversion process is called Power Electronics.

- In our society power conversion is required for a multitude of applications, making power electronics an absolute necessity of modern life. This includes both wind and solar energy which has to be transferred effectively onto the power grid, as well as computers, motors, and other machines where the power has to be adapted to the load. In actual fact, we estimate that around 70-80 % of our entire power consumption is converted through power electronics, explains Frede Blaabjerg, Professor at the Institute of Energy Technology.

Blaabjerg is convinced that this percentage of electrically based energy will continue to in-crease over the next two decades, making it es-sential that we have the capability to manage the electric power. Power electronics is a key factor to achieving this in a smart and efficient manner.

The Key to Wind PowerPower electronics is crucial, both when comes to wind turbines and to controlling the en-ergy generated by wind turbines and sent to the power grid. Concerning wind turbines, the key is to yield maximum efficiency from the turbine. This is achieved by controlling the relation-ship between the wind speed and the speed of the blade optimally: If the wind blows a little stronger, then the circulation speed of the wind turbine blade needs to be accordingly adjusted in order to maintain the greatest efficiency pos-sible. At the same time, power electronics also makes it possible to steer the effect in to the grid very precisely. This gives greater flexibility in controlling the power grid optimally.

- The key to giving wind power the dominating role in the power market of the future lies in power electronics that can contribute to convert wind turbine energy to the power grid in the most effective manner, says Blaabjerg.


The continual development of Power Elec-tronics is a key area of research at Aalborg University where close cooperation with the relevant industries is seen as vital. This in-cludes improving the electricity usage and durability of machines as well as individual components. On a broader scale, it also in-cludes the production of electricity through renewable sources such as wind turbines.

- In order to maximise the output from our en-ergy, we need to act on the following: Increas-ing efficiency by consuming less, and optimi-sation by using that energy most effectively. We have around 75 PhD candidates who are researching these issues at all levels, includ-ing component, machinery, and system level, says Blaabjerg.

Power electronics is a technology that is funda-mental to energy research and essential for the entire transition to sustainable energy:

- Power electronics forms the basis for many, if not all, the energy types that we research at Aalborg University. The reason being, if we are not able to convert an energy type into usable electricity on the power grid, then we quite simply won’t be able to implement a renewable energy model, says Blaabjerg.

The World Looks to AalborgOver the last two decades, Aalborg University has established a global reputation in the field of power electronics, and though other interna-tional universities are catching up, Blaabjerg is confident that Aalborg University is still a global leader in this field.

- There is no doubt that we are very advanced in this field at Aalborg University and that stakeholders across the globe follow our work closely. The main reasons for this is that we collaborate very closely with industry partners, which adds a very real and usable quality to our

research, and also that our publication volume is very high. Furthermore, we have a large re-search capacity, including globally renowned researchers and ultra-modern facilities.

The Institute of Energy Technology has sev-eral new initiatives underway, including an extensive upgrade of the facilities, in addition to expanding their research focus to include new fields such as electronic reliability which is a developing field central to the industry.

∞ Frede Blaabjerg | ProfessorDepartment of Energy Technology



TAKING THE HELICOPTER VIEW

SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS:

- Smart energy systems is a holistic way of thinking that breaks with the idea of sub-sectors such as power, heating and transportation, being exclusive sectors. Instead, you merge the energy demands of society into one, interconnected system. The goal is better and cheaper solutions for integrating renewable energy, says Henrik Lund.

According to Lund, a Danish energy system that is based on 100 % renewable energy must be re-alisable already in 2015. Many of the prerequisites are already in place or scheduled, but further investments are also necessary.

Wind is Weather Dependent An energy system based entirely on renewable energy sources (which in Denmark will be primarily wind power) is challenged by the lack of production consistency that you get from burning oil or coal. Some days are windier than others. As we erect more wind turbines, we need to ensure better overall regulation of the supply system.

- When Denmark integrated 20 % wind power into our electricity production, we reached a point where our power plants had to start regulating their productions based on the weather forecast, explains Lund. - Today, 30 % of our electricity is wind powered, and we are nearing a point where alternative strategies are needed to balance our power production. Our many wind turbines are generating more power than we can consume, leading us to seek alternative solutions, such as considering electricity and heating more holistically.

Two Sides of the Same CoinStoring electricity is difficult and costly, and also incurs a considerable amount of energy loss. In more progressive areas, the problem is currently solved by utilising the excess power to heat water. Hot water

At the Department of Development and Planning at Aalborg University, Professor Henrik Lund and his colleagues work on a model for an energy system which is 100 % based on renewable energy sources such as wind, sun and waves. As a result, they have developed the concept Smart Energy Systems that merge the power and heating supply respectively and also the transportation sector.


∞ Henrik Lund | ProfessorDepartment of Development and Planning


is used to heat homes, and an excess of hot water is easier and cheaper to store than excess electricity. But another more effective solution is to employ heat pumps that can convert the electricity into heating.

- In Denmark we could increasingly use heat pumps to our advantage, says Lund. - In areas where it is not feasible to lay district heating pipes, we could instead install heating pumps in apartment blocks and individual dwellings. This is a viable alternative to natural gas or oil-fuelled heating, which will be phased out as part of establishing an energy system run solely on renew-able power. In areas where district heating already exists, large heat pumps can be added to the supply network. A heat pump has a greater output than input, meaning it produces more heat than it uses electricity, explains Lund.

By 2020 we will reach our goal of 50 % wind power generated energy sup-ply, which of course means that we will be producing less electricity through the existing coal and natural gas fired power plants. This in turn also means that these fossil fuelled power plants will be able to deliver less heating to the heating supply network. Here heat pumps provide a flexible solution allowing us to maintain power efficiency while simultaneous incorporat-ing a greater proportion of wind power. This illustrates why it is important to think holistically about heating and electricity, and is the main tenet of Smart Energy Systems.

Not to Forget Transport To achieve an energy system completely free of fossil fuel demands, it is impossible to neglect the transport sector. It would – at least in theory – be relatively simple to shift personal transport onto wind power via the mass utilisation of electric cars. Larger trucks and airplanes however are not able to run on electricity. In these instances a possible solution would be to produce a biomass derived gas or liquid fuel such as methane or metha-nol. While biomass is a sustainable source of energy, it is not a renewable source, and there is insufficient biomass in Denmark, nor globally, to run the entire transport sector on.

- You have to consider gas and power production as a whole, in order to implement this solution. Again this is the fundamental thinking behind the Smart Energy Systems concept – that the best and least costly solutions are to be found when you take a holistic approach, says Lund. - A huge buzz-word right now is “Power to Gas”, which is the idea of using electricity to boost the production of biofuels through electrolysis. Just as with the use of electricity in our heating supply, this is advantageous because it means we can achieve a greater flexibility, as biofuel and gas are easier and cheaper to store than electricity, concludes Lund.

Please to go this YouTube video to watch a presentation of Smart Energy Systems in an easy and clear manner:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiBiB4DaYOM&feature=youtu.be

You can also click here to read a more thorough presentation: www.smartenergysystems.eu

∞


WIND POWER SOLUTIONS TO SOCIETY

How many wind turbines do we have room for? When will Denmark stop building more wind turbines? Where should we invest? What do we do when the wind is too light or too strong and our many wind turbines produce too little or too much power? Which is the overall best solution? These are some of the questions that occupy researchers at the Department of Development and Planning at Aalborg University.

At the institute, researchers take a very stra-tegic approach to wind turbines. They set up various scenarios for future energy systems in order to make well-founded decisions about Denmark’s future energy solutions.

- There is no point in having, say, more electric cars, if those cars will run on coal generated electricity. Conversely, it also doesn’t make sense that we construct a bevy of wind turbines if the electricity demand isn’t high enough for instance from electric cars. So where should we prioritise our investments? asks Professor Poul Alberg Østergaard from the Department of Development and Planning.

This is a very complex field where many fac-tors weigh in and overlap – and the smallest imbalance could have major consequences.

- Currently, we are also focusing a lot on the relationship between wind power and district heating. Both in relation to converting wind power to the heat pumps that supply our do-mestic heating, and how the district heating system needs to be connected to other systems when the wind isn’t blowing, says Østergaard.

One of the most pressing questions is how to best and cheapest reach our target to integrate 50 % wind power in to Denmark’s energy system. Generally speaking, the main challenge when it comes to wind turbines is weather conditions: Sometimes the wind is not strong enough to cover Denmark’s power demands – at other times it is too windy and excess energy needs to be exported, stored, or utilised in the production of an alternate form that can be stored.

- When there is not enough wind, we need an alternative energy system to help meet our electricity demands. That could be our fossil fuelled power plants, but the bigger question is whether we envisage those at all in the future. If we do, we need to ensure that they are still a financially viable option. Otherwise, they will cease to exist. And if that happens, we need to be ready with viable alternatives to supplement our wind energy and make up for potential shortfalls due to weather variability, explains Østergaard.

The Department of Development and Planning works with multiple potential scenarios in the

context of this challenge in order to investigate potential solutions and limitations.

- There are a range of possible strategies that we can employ to regulate the input and out-put in our energy system. One example would be to adopt a more flexible pattern of energy consumption. However, the greatest potential for cost-saving lies in the use of heat pumps and in charging electric cars when it’s windy. Actually, electric cars have a great potential for contributing positively to a society that is based on large amounts of wind power be-cause their batteries are able to store large amounts of power, concludes Østergaard.

ENERGY PLANNING:

∞ Poul Alberg Østergaard | Assoc. Prof.Department of Development and Planning Phone : +45 9940 8424 Email : [email protected]


WIND POWER SOLUTIONS TO SOCIETY

∞ Poul Alberg Østergaard | Assoc. Prof.Department of Development and Planning Phone : +45 9940 8424 Email : [email protected]

For more than a decade, Poul Houman Andersen, Department of Business and Management, together with Ina Drejer and others have researched the challenges of the wind industry and its possibilities for creating profit-able value chains.

The great potential of offshore wind power has been a special focus. One of their suggestions says that 300,000 European jobs can be established and that a substantial part of Europe’s goal of almost 100 % green energy by 2050 can be covered by offshore wind power. Being a leading player in both research and production of wind turbines and wind power, Denmark stands in an advantageous position:

- If Europe is to reach our goal on green energy, we have to bet on offshore wind power. It is the technology that is most advanced. It is located in the sea where the wind is strongest, and we are almost out of good on-land wind sites. The sea has room for many more wind turbines, says Profes-sor Poul Houman Andersen.

However, the offshore wind turbine industry is facing some challenges that have to be met before the potential is released. On a general level, lowering costs in all steps of the value chain seems to be the main is-sue. If failing to do so, offshore wind power could become uninteresting in just a few years because other forms of green energy are able to deliver cheaper megawatt hours per invested kroner.

- This is why many are trying to re-think both large and small parts of the complex business system of offshore wind power. Not one specific technological design has triumphed yet, says Houman Andersen.

Research suggests that the offshore wind industry is becoming more and more aware that offshore wind production entails technological, logistical and commercial challenges that cannot be solved directly by help from onshore production solutions.

- In reality, the offshore industry is a young industry of only ten years. Con-sequently, among the dominant business operators, a widely held view seems to flourish that the offshore wind industry is a new type of industry that demands special competencies, says Houman Andersen.

Exactly how the area will develop and if offshore wind power will branch off in to an independent business area depend to a great extent on the ability to gain control of establishment and operational costs.

- In our research, we want to follow up especially on the development in the Danish offshore industry to find out how Denmark could utilise the competitive advantage in being a pioneer within wind power, says Hou-man Andersen.

THE FUTURE OF OFFSHORE WIND POWER UNCOVERED

Offshore wind power has the potential to deliver on Europe’s goal of green energy by 2050. However, technical challenges must be solved in order to make the value chain cost-effective without state support.

ENERGIPLANLÆGNING:

∞ Poul Houman Andersen | ProfessorDepartment of Business and Management



The newest offshore wind turbines are as big as jumbo jets, and they almost cost the same too. And namely the costs will kill off the offshore industry within a few years if the industry is not able to lower the prices of produced energy to levels similar to e.g. oil or coal. Today, the wind industry is supported by state aid; however, many countries have declared that this financial aid will end by 2020, at the latest.

- An important and partially overlooked research area within the value chains of the wind industry is the whole shipping, logistics, and supply chain management area, says Thomas Poulsen, PhD scholar at the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

Thomas Poulsen’s PhD project aims to cover the many processes in the very complex supply chains as well as the specific demands which the shipping and logistics companies have to comply with in order to stay in the lead on both a na-tional and not at least international level.

- Keeping in mind our maritime history, Denmark has the qualifications to become world leading within this area. We have proved that we are able to transport objects across the ocean no matter the weather situation. I hope that my work will encourage the industry to make a strategic decision about determinedly finding the cost savings within logistics and the supply chain. Cost savings that will make the individual Danish operator competitive on a global scale. When this hap-pens, undreamt-of possibilities around the world will open up

because this area is seeing immense growth, says Poulsen.Today, a number of shipping and logistics companies have resigned from the potentially great wind turbine market because they do not understand it. With its in-depth case studies, Thomas Poulsen’s research project could perhaps contribute to making this potentially large market more understandable and thus more attractive to invest in.

- Through my project, they could learn about the whole process from initial sea studies and transport of compo-nents to assembly, operations, service, and dismounting. It is complex and there is not much academic knowledge on this issue, says Poulsen.

Especially outside Europe, there is not much practical knowledge within the area of very large and heavy offshore wind turbines. Nonetheless, there are ambitious goals, es-pecially in Asia and in particular China, to replace fossil fuels with wind power. This provides Danish companies with op-portunities to export knowledge, skills, and components – if they understand how to make the supply chains cheaper.

BILLIONS TO BE SAVED ON LOGISTICS FOR OFF-SHORE WIND TURBINES

∞ Thomas Poulsen | Ph.d.-stipendiatInstitut for Mekanik og Produktion


Research in logistics and supply chain management will be a contributing factor in making wind industry stakeholders aware of innovative solutions as to how all steps and value chains in the life of a wind turbine become cheaper.


Vi investerer i din fremtid

DEN EUROPÆISKE UNION

Den Europæiske Socialfond

aau wind - challenge driven research

Documents