Applications of Systems Engineering to the Research, Design, and Development of Wind Energy Systems

Abstract

Executive SummaryOver the past 30 years, wind energy has evolved from a small industry active in a few countries to a large international industry involving major players in the manufacturing, development, and utility sectors. Coinciding with the industry growth, significant innovation in the technology has resulted in larger sized turbines with lower associated costs of energy and more complex designs in all subsystems-from the rotor to the drivetrain to the electronics and control systems. However, as the deployment of the technology grows and its role within the electricity sector has become more prominent, so have the expectations of the technology in terms of performance, reliability, and cost. For the industry to continue to succeed and become a sustainable source of electricity, innovation in wind energy technology must continue to improve performance and lower the cost of energy while supporting seamless integration of wind energy into the electric grid without creating significant negative impacts on local communities and environments. At the same time, the nature of the issues associated with wind energy design and development are noticeably more complex than in the past due to a variety of factors such as, for example, large turbines sizes, offshore deployment or complex terrains. Looking toward the future, the industry would benefit from an integrated approach that simultaneously addresses turbine design, plant design and development, grid interaction and operation, and mitigation of adverse community and environmental impacts. These activities must be integrated in order to meet this diverse set of goals while recognizing trade-offs that exist between them.In order to address these challenges, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has embarked on the Wind Energy Systems Engineering (WESE) initiative to evaluate how methods of systems engineering can be applied to the research, design, and development of wind energy systems. Systems engineering is a field within engineering that has a long history of application to complex technical systems such as aerospace. As such, the field holds much potential for addressing critical issues that face the wind industry today. This paper represents a first step for understanding this potential and lays out a conceptual design for the development of a WESE framework and tool. It reviews systems engineering methods as applied to related technical systems and illustrates how these methods can be combined in a WESE framework to meet the research, design, and development needs for the future of the industry. Subsequent efforts will focus on developing and implementing a framework based on the conceptual design illustrated in the last chapter of this report.In general, systems engineering approaches have the following four characteristics: holistic, multidisciplinary, integrated/value-driven, and long-term/life-cycle oriented. The approach is holistic in that it considers the full technical system, including any number of performance criteria, as well as potential...

Through-life Engineering Services: A Wind Turbine Perspective

“…In general, a WF project will consists of several stakeholders ranging from the developers, financers, utilities, WF owners, OEMs, suppliers, governments, communities and even the environment [2]. From a TES perspective the relationships of importance after a WF project has been given a go ahead, are those between the OEMs, customers, and suppliers.…”

“…This growth is forecasted to continue, as the amount of global electricity that could be supplied by wind in 2020 is estimated to be between 8-12% [1]. Furthermore, wind power generation has also evolved from a small industry in a few countries [2] to a large global industry with complex utility scale systems, comprising of arrays of large WTs connected to the grid. Moreover, as typical WTs are designed for at least a 20 year life time, there is an essential need for through-life support in order to sustain the continuous operation of the WTs at a minimum life-cycle cost.…”

Knowledge Management: A Cross Sectorial Comparison of Wind Generation and Naval Engineering

“…electromechanical, structural, control, etc. It is also defined by the considerable number of inputs from nearly every field of engineering and many of the natural and even social sciences [11]. The WF itself is made up of individual wind turbines which are all interconnected to the grid.…”

“…The WF itself is made up of individual wind turbines which are all interconnected to the grid. Furthermore, the extended supply chain related to the transportation, installation and operations & maintenance of WFs [11], which are heavily influenced by the weather and sea conditions [9,12], also contribute to the complexities of offshore wind power life cycle management. Other complexities result from the broad mix of stakeholders involved throughout the life cycle of offshore wind.…”

Through-life engineering services of wind turbines

“…3 [19,20]. This uncertainty in O&M cost estimation shows the need for TES so that OEMs can learn from WT operation to improve product design and performance.TES stakeholders and contract types: In general, a typical WF project will consists of several stakeholders ranging from the developers, financers, utilities, WF owners, OEMs, suppliers, governments, communities and even the environment [21]. With respect to the types through-life contracts, the relationships of importance after a WF project has been given a go ahead (i.e.…”