How to Improve an Offshore Wind Station

Abstract

The ocean is approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and has a lot of resources available. Nowadays, human beings are looking for renewable ways to obtain energy. Offshore power can be obtained in several different ways. Offshore wind power is the most used renewable offshore energy. Since 2017, offshore wind power has a competitive price in comparison with conventional sources. In the 2010s, offshore wind power grew at over 30% per year. Although it has remained less than one percent of the overall world electricity generation, offshore wind power becomes quite relevant on the northern European countries from 2020. However, there are other ways to obtain energy offshore such as using tides and the sun. These types of farms are expensive and difficult to install and, therefore, we propose a combination of several renewable energies in one farm. The main ambition of this work is to try to reduce the installation and maintenance costs of the two types of offshore renewable energies by creating a structure capable of supporting the two types of turbines. To accomplish it, a theoretical study will be made, a brief state-of-the-art will be presented, the chosen items and the environment chosen for installation will be referred to, a prototype will be simulated using a multiphysics software and, finally, the results and conclusions will be presented, based on a Portuguese case study. How piezoelectric materials can enter offshore farms to increase efficiency is also referred to. The project proved to be possible of producing approximately 12.5 GWh of energy annually, more or less enough to supply 10 thousand homes. However, the installation of the piezoelectric materials did not prove to be viable as it is an expensive technology and does not produce a large amount of energy.

Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow: New Advances

“…Hybrid platforms, which use more than one source of renewable energy, are becoming more popular and cost-effective. Torres et al [42] conducted a study of a hybrid platform, which includes offshore wind and water turbines. The water turbine, which uses tidal power, is installed in a structured tower (together with a wind turbine).…”

“…The water turbine, which uses tidal power, is installed in a structured tower (together with a wind turbine). The main objective was to calculate the power generated by wind and water turbines [42]. Using the continuity equation and the RANS equations, the set of 3D equations was closed, taking into account the standard k-ε turbulence model.…”

“…The results of the simulations were presented as graphs of velocity fields. On the basis of the simulations, the authors were able to calculate the energy production for the hybrid platform over a year [42].…”

A High-Gain DC Side Converter with a Ripple-Free Input Current for Offshore Wind Energy Systems

“…Compared with its onshore counterpart, an offshore wind farm has the merits of less land occupation, higher wind speeds, and more stable wind conditions [5][6][7]. However, there are some problems that need to be solved, such as the difficulties of installation and maintenance [8,9]. Once an accident occurs, the long time for fault correction will have an adverse impact on the continuous power supply.…”