international test sites for offshore wind power at

INTERNATIONAL TEST SITES FOR OFFSHORE WIND POWER AT SEA

Offshore wind farms are an expensive and risky business and therefore quite sensitive to addi-tional costs and risks. This results in a “catch 22”: The offshore wind industry needs innovations to bring down the cost of energy. At the same time, prototypes of turbines and components as well as additional R&D activities at offshore wind farms inflict additional costs and risks. That is why initiating test sites offshore that are accessible to manufacturers and researchers is a com-plex venture, yet, very important.

Over the past few years, programs to accelerate the development of offshore wind technolo-gy have been established worldwide and particularly in Europe. Research labs and innovation specialists started to set up test and demonstration activities and infrastructure onshore and offshore while manufacturers and operators invested large sums into their own offshore test sites. This has led to a manifold landscape of offshore wind test and demonstration activities. The majority of the already operating prototypes belong to a private operator and have been supported by public authorities. Other test site initiators, in an economically relevant approach, try to integrate different manufacturers and operators to help bring innovations and new know-ledge to the market.

In summer 2013 we decided to organize a workshop on “organization of wind power research, development and demonstration activities at offshore test sites” to provide an international forum for information about the different approaches to offshore research, test and demonstra-tion sites and the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences. Some 15 owners, manag-ers and coordinators of offshore wind power test sites gathered at EWEA offshore 2013 in Frankfurt to discuss different organizational structures, challenges and lessons learned.

The intention of this publication is to provide reliable information about some of these test sites. At this point we would like to thank participants of the workshop and colleagues of the test sites who verified contents and submitted images for this publication. A second objective is to encourage other test site coordinators to contact us and join future workshops. We believe that there is great potential in the network formation of international test sites. With the informati-on in this document we hope to encourage further discussion and stimulate collaboration.

Bernhard Lange, Eva Otto, Michael Durstewitz – Fraunhofer IWES

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TesTing and demonsTraTion of offshore wind Technology innovaTions aT sea – whaT’s going on inTernaTionally?

aBouT The projecT “offshore TesT siTe research”:

INITIATING FURTHER OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY TEST SITE RESEARCH IN

GERMANY AFTER ALPHA VENTUS

The fi rst German offshore wind farm and test site “alpha ventus” was a huge success for the German offshore wind energy industry and research landscape. For the fi rst time, the perform-ance of the 5MW turbine class was proven. Furthermore, a lot of R&D activities were carried out within the research initiative RAVE and at alpha ventus. The innovations-to-market-process through demonstration at sea is a signifi cant challenge because test site realization is expensive and depends on a lot of different actors and changing legal framework conditions. However, innovations are necessary to reduce the cost of energy and to minimize environmental effects of offshore wind energy utilization.

Within the project “offshore test site research” (Offshore-Testfeld-Forschung – OFT) an overall concept for “spatially and temporally distributed test site research” in German waters will be developed. The aim is to initiate different test sites at sea for different innovations and research questions at different times in the future. The project is led by Fraunhofer IWES partnering with the German Offshore Foundation (Stiftung Offshore-Windenergie).

The overall concept will discuss the framework for further test site initiation and research at test sites in Germany and includes a R&D needs and expertise assessment, general legal frame-work conditions for test site activities as well as funding opportunities. Eight innovators with demon-stration needs have been identifi ed and have become industrial partner of the project.

OFT is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conversation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and supported by its eight industrial partners.

www.offshore-testfeld.de www.rave-offshore.de www.iwes.fraunhofer.de

locaTion

North Sea, 45km north of the island of Borkum, German EEZ. Coordinates ~54°01’ N, ~6°36’ E. Water depth: 30m.

operaTor

DOTI (Deutsche Offshore Testfeld und Infrastruktur GmbH & Co. KG). The company was solely founded to build and operate alpha ventus. DOTI is owned by EWE AG (47.5%), E.ON Climate & Renewables GmbH and Vattenfall Europe New Energy GmbH (each 26.25%).

sTaTus & Time schedule

Construction of the turbines in 2009. Operating since 2009. Official inauguration in April 2010.

involved organizaTions

DOTI (operator); AREVA Wind, Senvion SE (wind turbine manufacturers); Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety – BMU (funding R&D activities); Projektträ-ger Jülich – PTJ (supervision of research projects on behalf of the BMU); Stiftung Offshore-Wind- energie (initiator); organizations undertaking research within RAVE (project coordinators):

• Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES• Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency – BSH • Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing – BAM• Senvion SE• AREVA Wind GmbH• Leibniz Universität Hannover – ForWind

TesT siTe alpha venTus and research iniTiaTive rave

Technical deTails

• 6 Senvion SE 5M turbines, 5 MW, 92m hub height, on jacket Foundations• 6 AREVA Wind M5000, 5 MW, 90m hub height, on tripod Foundations• Cable connection of 69 km between the offshore (at alpha ventus) and the onshore substations in Hagermarsch (Germany)

organizaTional sTrucTure

RAVE is an interdisciplinary research initiative formed from science, industry and administra-tion to accompany the construction and ope-ration of the alpha ventus test site. More than 50 R&D partners collaborate among approx. 40 projects. The basis for the close collaboration is a cooperation agreement between the manu-facturers, the operator, the Stiftung, and the research organizations. The overall coordination of RAVE is led by Fraunhofer IWES. The central measurement service project is managed by the BSH. A Steering Committee forms the center of the initiative.

raveDr. Bernhard Lange, Michael Durstewitz [email protected]

press contact alpha ventus Christian Bartsch [email protected]

www.alpha-ventus.de www.rave-offshore.de www.youtube.com/ watch?v=8ap4dlovzl4 (rave science documentary) www.rave2012.de http://www.bine.info/en/ publications/publikation/ rave-forschen-am-offshore-testfeld/ http://stukplusconference.com/ conference-material/ (posters and talks given at the conference

“Five years of ecological research at alpha ventus”)

• University of Stuttgart• ForWind – University of Oldenburg• Flensburg University of Applied Sciences• Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology• fk:wind, Hochschule Bremerhaven• BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH• Telemedizincentrum Charité TMCC• about 30 more partnering institutions

projecT aims

• Build and operate the fi rst German offshore wind farm• Demonstrate technical reliability of multimegawall offshore windturbines• Develop and accelerate technical progress• Investigation of offshore wind farm issues• Expand research, experience and expertise

r&d focuses on

• Foundations and support structures• Turbine technology and monitoring• Safety, environment and social acceptance• Grid integration• Coordination of measurements and data service

www.alpha-ventus.de www.rave-offshore.de www.youtube.com watch?v=8ap4dlovzl4 (rave science documentary) www.rave2012.de http://www.bine.info/en/ publications/publikation/ rave-forschen-am-offshore-testfeld/ http://stukplusconference.com/ conference-material/

informaTion access

Research results are published by R&D projects in journals or magazines as well as at conferen-ces. Data from over 1200 sensors is archived in the RAVE research archive and is available to accredited RAVE researchers.

financing / funding

CAPEX of alpha ventus: 250 Million Euros. Alpha ventus received a 30 Million Euros subsidy from the BMU. Up to date, RAVE R&D projects have been funded with over 50 Million Euros by the BMU.

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Technical deTails

5-7 MW turbines, up to 195m tip height.


A transfer of control from Narec to other equity partners is envisaged as the relative investment from equity partners increases.

informaTion access

Three levels envisaged:1. Confidential to tenant2. Shared between participants on site and with Narec3. Public domain

financing / funding

Catalyst funding (8% of project cost) by De-partment of Business Innovation and Skills and TSB. Tenants expected to meet construction and operating costs.

contact personTony Quinn [email protected]

locaTion

Off the coast of Blyth (Northumberland), UK.Three arrays:Array 2: Approx. 5.6km from Blyth, 35m depthArray 3: Approx. 7km from Newbiggin, 45m depth Array 4 :Approx. 14km from Blyth, 55-60m depth

operaTor

National Renewable Energy Centre Ltd. (Narec)(Narec actively seeking equity investment partners ultimately prepared to sell interest).


Start date for construction of the demonstration arrays: 2015. Expected end of construction phase: Q4 2016.


Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Technology Strategy Board, The Crown Estates, Narec, Turner and Townsend Ltd. (project management); Natural Power Consultants Ltd (coordination).

projecT aims

• Develop a 100MW grid connected offshore wind demonstration platform with the capacity to accommodate up to 15 large-scale prototypes. This platform may be utilised by tenants to deploy their prototype or demonstration turbines and foundations• Test of the 15 selected offshore turbines (includes foundations, towers, blades)• Environmental assessments

BlyTh offshore wind demonsTraTor projecT

www.narec.co.uk/demonstration/ blyth-offshore-wind-demonstration-site

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programme director gunfleet sands 3 demo Klaus Skoust Mø[email protected]

locaTion

Located next to the 172MW Gunfleet Sands wind farm, 7 km south east of Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, UK.

operaTor

DONG Energy Gunfleet Sands Demo (UK) Ltd.


Operating.


• DONG Energy (owner)• Siemens (turbine manufacturer)

projecT aims

• Testing of new construction and installation methods• Testing of turbine performance, reliability and functionality• Surveys to discover if one layer of scour protection around the monopiles – instead of the standard two layers – is sufficient

gunfleeT sands 3 demonsTraTion projecT

informaTion access

DONG Energy shares data with Carbon Trust and Siemens, as well as supports knowledge sharing with public institutions (e.g. OFGEM, TDC, Danish Energy Agency).

financing / funding

DONG Energy financed the project 100% but has entered a test agreement with Siemens. With this solution both DONG Energy and Siemens gain valuable learnings which lead to design, process, installation, commissioning and operation improvements.

http://www.dongenergy.com/ gunfleetsands/demonstration_project/ pages/default.aspx

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• Testing of a mini remote operated vehicle underwater for simplification of cable installation (which as a result would not require divers to assist in installing the subsea cable)• Testing of a new cable protection system

Technical deTails

Two Siemens 6 MW turbines will be tested offshore at this site. Two Siemens SWT-6.0 with direct drive technology were installed in January 2013. Both turbines are equipped with a 120 m rotor and are founded on mon-opiles.


DONG Energy is the sole owner of the test site. DONG Energy and Siemens have entered a test agreement.

locaTion

10 km off the coast of Karmøy island (Rogaland), Norway.

operaTor

Statoil ASA.


Operating since 2009, till March 2014 approx. 36 GW/h produced. Hywind is still operating. It is also used for testing of various equipment. such as access vessels etc.


• Statoil ASA (owner)• Siemens Wind Power (wind turbine manufacturer)• Technip (foundation manufacturer) Substructure design by Statoil• Nextel (delivered sub sea cable)• SINTEF – marine laboratory• Inocean – studies on concept• OWEC – studies on concept

hywind

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projecT aims

• Test how wind and waves affect the structure of the floating wind turbine• Test how efficient the floating wind turbine produces electricity • Collect data to improve the concept and reduce costs as well as enable the concept for larger turbines and other water depths

Technical deTails

• Wind turbine: SWT-2.3-82, Siemens, 2.3 MW, 65 m hub-height, 138 tons weight• Water depth approx. 200m• The floating structure consists of a slender steel cylinder filled with ballast of water and rocks, it extends 100 m beneath the sea’s surface and is attached to the seabed by a three-point mooring spread



http://www.statoil.com/en/technologyinnovation/newenergy/ renewablepowerproduction/offshore/hywind/pages/ hywindputtingwindpowertothetest.aspx ©

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vessels and access sysTems TesTed aT hywind 2009-2014:

• “Fob Trim“• “Stril Merkur daughter craft MSDC12“• “Buddy“ bow and aft• „Fob Swath 1“ and Undertun prototype 8m gangway system • “Buddy“ pull measurement• “Bayard 3“ and MaXccess (T12)• “VMMS“ Vessel Motion Measurement System (A+D)• “Island Crown“ with Uptime gangway• “World Passat“ Fjellstrand / WMO WindServer 25


All supplier contracts including the turbine contract were ordinary commercial contracts. Statoil has a number of patents and other property rights on the concept.

informaTion access

Statoil owns the Hywind technology. Statoil will in each case decide on what to publish.

financing / funding

The project had at FID in 2008 an investment frame of NOK 400 mill. including operation and research for the two first years. Except for the NOK 59 mill. support from the public corporation Enova, Statoil has funded the project alone.

Today the research on Hywind is financed by Statoil.

The operation of Hywind and improvements of the concept for new projects is financed by Statoil. This includes new developments on the foundation, evaluation of larger turbine sizes etc.

Hywind is fully owned by Statoil.

locaTion

Three optional sites:• Tromp Binnen: 75 km off the coast of Callantsoog (concession owned by RWE)• Q4 location: 24 km off the coast of Bergen aan Zee (concession owned by Eneco )• Clearcamp: 99km off the coast of Schiermonnikoog (concession owned by Typhoon offshore)

operaTor

The wind farm will be developed and operated by a special purpose company (SPC). The de-tailed governance has still to be decided upon. Developers and investors shall take a position in the SPC.


There are plans that the Dutch authorities will decide upon an Offshore Wind Demonstration project in 2014. Ideally, the demonstration project will be operational in 2018.


The demonstration project is initiated by the NWEA and the “Top consortium for Knowledge and Innovation offshore wind (Wind op Zee)” (TKI-WoZ), part of the Dutch Topsector Policy – a government policy that targets the further development of successful industry sectors through R&D in cooperation with Universities and Knowledge Institutes. The TKI-WoZ aims to strengthen the economic activities in offshore wind in the Netherlands and to support the Dutch offshore wind sector.

offshore wind demonsTraTion projecT leeghwaTer

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The SPC will organize tender(s) via which (a) partner contractor(s) will be selected. SPC and part-nering contractor(s) will co-develop innovations in the wind farm.A final governance structure regarding the contract structure and integration of innovations has not been established yet. Concession contracts or separate EPC contracts are considered feasible.

The TKI-WoZ will be involved during the development, installation and operation of the wind farm in an advising role towards the Dutch authorities that provide the concession and subsidies. Furthermore, the TKI-WOZ will act as a custodian of the innovative content of the project on behalf of the Dutch authorities.

informaTion access

Major parts of research results and data will become publicly available.

financing / funding

The project will be privately funded and financed through a project financing structure.

Kanaalweg 18-h, gebouw c23526 Kl utrechtThe netherlands+31 (0)30 [email protected]: 55970869



projecT aims

• To accelerate the deployment of offshore wind energy• To reduce the cost for offshore wind projects by 40% in 2023, compared to 2013• To strengthen the economic activities in offshore wind in the Netherlands

Technical deTails

The offshore demonstration wind farm will include state of the art and innovative techniques. The “state of the art part” of the wind farm will demonstrate the feasibility of cost reductions in offshore wind energy (operated as a commercial wind farm), the innovative part will provide opportunities to test and demonstrate promising innovations in order to become marketable.

R&D will focus on the development of new technology. Five innovation themes are defined:• support structures• wind farm technology• electrical grid• transport, installation & logistics• operation & maintenance

Interesting innovations that belong in one of these categories can be demonstrated or tested in the project. The Leeghwater approach will also act as a showcase where policy innovations can be developed and applied.

http://www.tki-windopzee.nl/page/ tki-wind-op-zee-english http://www.tki-windopzee.nl/ files/2013-07/general%20presentati- on%20TKi%20wind%20op% 20zee%20(3).pdf

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impressum

Funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety on the base of an act of the German Parliament. The responsibility of the contents of this publication is with the authors.

puBlisher

Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System TechnologyKönigstor 5934119 KasselGermanywww.iwes.fraunhofer.dewww.offshore-testfeld.de

projecT leader ofT

Dr. Bernhard Lange, [email protected]

auThor

Eva Otto, [email protected]

in cooperaTion wiTh

Michael Durstewitz, Mario Glavasevic, Vera Ingunn Moe, Tony Quinn, Inga Stein, Maarten Tim-merman, Mirjam Wöhlke, Ernst van Zuijlen

layouT

Evgenia Gostrer

copyrighT

All pictures in this brochure © DOTI/alpha ventus, unless otherwise stated.Kassel, April 2014

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international test sites for offshore wind power at

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