Doctoral Training Centre in Wind Energy Systems

This proposal is to establish a DTC in Wind Energy Systems at the University of Strathclyde. This will bring together staff at Strathclyde with in-depth expertise covering the wind resource, rotor aerodynamics, wind turbine structural analysis, turbine control, power conversion, condition monitoring, and electrical network integration issues to create a Centre of learning and research with strong links to the wind industry that will provide a stimulating environment for the PhD students. The Centre will be accommodated in space within the Royal College Building refurbished with the requirements of the DTC specifically in mind. The latest wind turbine design modelling software will be made available to students alongside a wide range of power system and computation modelling packages. The wider aim, drawing on links to an expected strong ETI funded research activity, is to create a centre, with the DTC at is core, that is internationally leading in wind energy systems technology and on a par with the centres in Denmark, the USA, Germany and the Netherlands. To meet the interdisciplinary research demands of the wind industry a substantial centre bringing together all the relevant skills on a single site is essential. This requires a critical mass of staff and early stage researchers of the sort that this proposal would deliver. It is also clear from Government and other reports that the projected growth of the wind industry in the UK, and elsewhere, will be limited by a severe shortage of skilled engineers unless the universities dramatically increase the scale of their activities in this area.