Supergen Wind Hub
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Abstract
The EU has a binding target of 20% of energy to come from renewables by 2020, with an associated CO2 emissions reduction target of 20% (relative to 1990) and a 20% reduction on energy usage by the same date. This is the so-called 20/20/20 target. The UK's target is for 15% of energy to be sourced from renewables by this date. For this target to be met, over 30% of electricity will need to be generated from renewables and it is anticipated that 31GW of this will come from wind power with 13GW onshore and 18GW offshore by 2020 to 40GW of offshore wind power capacity could be installed by 2030. At present 6GW of wind power have been installed onshore and 3GW offshore. Because of environmental concerns, the development of onshore wind power in the UK is being constrained making the cost-effective and reliable offshore development ever more important. To increase offshore capacity by at least a factor of five in seven years, whilst minimising the cost of energy, presents very significant design, operational and logistical challenges. Within the above context and in the longer term, wind farms and wind turbines will be sited further offshore in deeper water and become bigger.
The proposed Supergen Wind Hub brings together leading wind energy academic research groups in UK to address the medium term challenges of scaling up to multiple wind farms, considering how to better build, operate and maintain multi-GW arrays of wind turbines whilst providing a reliable source of electricity whose characteristics can be effectively integrated into a modern power system such as that in the UK. The wind resource over both short and long terms, the interaction of wakes within a wind farm and the turbine loads and their impact on reliability will all need to be better understood. The layout of the farms, including foundations, impact on radar and power systems and shore-connection issues, will need to be optimised. The most effective and efficient operation of wind farms will require them to act as virtual conventional power plants flexibly responding to the current conditions, the wind turbines' state and operational demands and grid-integration requirements. The programme of research for the Supergen Wind Energy Hub will focus on all of the above, both at the level of single farms and of clusters of farms.
The proposed Supergen Wind Hub brings together leading wind energy academic research groups in UK to address the medium term challenges of scaling up to multiple wind farms, considering how to better build, operate and maintain multi-GW arrays of wind turbines whilst providing a reliable source of electricity whose characteristics can be effectively integrated into a modern power system such as that in the UK. The wind resource over both short and long terms, the interaction of wakes within a wind farm and the turbine loads and their impact on reliability will all need to be better understood. The layout of the farms, including foundations, impact on radar and power systems and shore-connection issues, will need to be optimised. The most effective and efficient operation of wind farms will require them to act as virtual conventional power plants flexibly responding to the current conditions, the wind turbines' state and operational demands and grid-integration requirements. The programme of research for the Supergen Wind Energy Hub will focus on all of the above, both at the level of single farms and of clusters of farms.
Planned Impact
One of the initially most visible aspects of communication will be bi-annual General Assemblies in which the consortium will present its progress to an open audience from the Associate Partners, companies and external specialists. Every second General Assembly will be annual events open to all stakeholders.
European Wind Energy research is dominated by a relatively small number of very large research institutions strongly connected to the wind industry, such as DTU Wind, formerly Riso National Laboratory, ECN, Fraunhofer IWES, CENER. Supergen Wind will continue to grow its connections to these major institutions to consolidate and further strengthen its impact on the European research scene through the following means.
European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE): EAWE is a consortium of the leading European Wind Energy research Universities that has a strong influence on setting the academic research agenda. The EAWE will provide a natural route for Supergen Wind Hub to engage and influence the university based European Wind Energy research agenda.
European Energy Research Alliance Joint Programme Wind (EERA JP Wind): EERA JP Wind is a collaboration of prominent European Wind Energy research Institutions. Its objective is to accelerate industry driven initiatives by looking at the Strategic Research Agenda and implementing the underpinning research required to address the challenges identified by the European Industrial Initiative on Wind Energy in the Wind Energy Roadmap. EERA JP Wind will provide a natural route for Supergen Wind Hub to engage and influence the industry-driven European Wind Energy research agenda.
International Energy Agency (IEA): Staff within the Hub have represented the UK in the IEA and contributed to various completed and on-going Annexes of the Agency related to wind energy Through the proposed Supergen Wind Hub, this strong international presence will be maintained.
The engagement with the UK academic sector will primarily be through the networking activities of the Supergen Wind Hub. However it is recognised that the Centres for Doctoral Training have an increasingly important role. Several of the proposed CDTs listed on the EPSRC website are directly relevant to the scope of Supergen Wind Hub, in particular, the DTC in Wind and Marine Energy Systems led by Leithead (Strathclyde) and the DTC in Marine Structures led by Brennan (Cranfield). Should these be successful, it is intended to collaborate closely with them.
All the partners in the proposed Supergen Wind Hub have strong links to the wind industry. These direct engagements with industry will be augmented by the establishment of an Industry Advisory Board (IAB). The IAB will meet every 6 months and will provide a forum for dissemination of Supergen Wind Hub activities.
Technology Strategy Board funded Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult): The ORE Catapult has been established to accelerate the growth and commercialisation of offshore wind, wave and tidal technologies. ORE Catapult is a natural route for Supergen Wind Hub to engage and with the ORE Catapult and through it the offshore wind sector in the UK.
Energy Technologies Institute (ETI): The ETI is a government-industry funded institution to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon energy technologies into the mix. The Supergen Wind Hub will continue contributing and supporting the ETI in the future as necessary.
Since there is a widely recognised skills gap in Wind Energy, a further pathway to impact will be through the provision of highly trained engineers, expert in wind energy. Most of these will be expected to take up posts in the growing commercial wind sector, and quickly rise to positions of leadership and influence.
European Wind Energy research is dominated by a relatively small number of very large research institutions strongly connected to the wind industry, such as DTU Wind, formerly Riso National Laboratory, ECN, Fraunhofer IWES, CENER. Supergen Wind will continue to grow its connections to these major institutions to consolidate and further strengthen its impact on the European research scene through the following means.
European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE): EAWE is a consortium of the leading European Wind Energy research Universities that has a strong influence on setting the academic research agenda. The EAWE will provide a natural route for Supergen Wind Hub to engage and influence the university based European Wind Energy research agenda.
European Energy Research Alliance Joint Programme Wind (EERA JP Wind): EERA JP Wind is a collaboration of prominent European Wind Energy research Institutions. Its objective is to accelerate industry driven initiatives by looking at the Strategic Research Agenda and implementing the underpinning research required to address the challenges identified by the European Industrial Initiative on Wind Energy in the Wind Energy Roadmap. EERA JP Wind will provide a natural route for Supergen Wind Hub to engage and influence the industry-driven European Wind Energy research agenda.
International Energy Agency (IEA): Staff within the Hub have represented the UK in the IEA and contributed to various completed and on-going Annexes of the Agency related to wind energy Through the proposed Supergen Wind Hub, this strong international presence will be maintained.
The engagement with the UK academic sector will primarily be through the networking activities of the Supergen Wind Hub. However it is recognised that the Centres for Doctoral Training have an increasingly important role. Several of the proposed CDTs listed on the EPSRC website are directly relevant to the scope of Supergen Wind Hub, in particular, the DTC in Wind and Marine Energy Systems led by Leithead (Strathclyde) and the DTC in Marine Structures led by Brennan (Cranfield). Should these be successful, it is intended to collaborate closely with them.
All the partners in the proposed Supergen Wind Hub have strong links to the wind industry. These direct engagements with industry will be augmented by the establishment of an Industry Advisory Board (IAB). The IAB will meet every 6 months and will provide a forum for dissemination of Supergen Wind Hub activities.
Technology Strategy Board funded Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult): The ORE Catapult has been established to accelerate the growth and commercialisation of offshore wind, wave and tidal technologies. ORE Catapult is a natural route for Supergen Wind Hub to engage and with the ORE Catapult and through it the offshore wind sector in the UK.
Energy Technologies Institute (ETI): The ETI is a government-industry funded institution to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon energy technologies into the mix. The Supergen Wind Hub will continue contributing and supporting the ETI in the future as necessary.
Since there is a widely recognised skills gap in Wind Energy, a further pathway to impact will be through the provision of highly trained engineers, expert in wind energy. Most of these will be expected to take up posts in the growing commercial wind sector, and quickly rise to positions of leadership and influence.
Organisations
- University of Strathclyde (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Manchester (Collaboration)
- LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- University of Surrey (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Collaboration)
- DURHAM UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (Collaboration)
- Medical Research Council (MRC) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
- National Renewable Energy Centre (Project Partner)
- DNV GL (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
Publications
Adedipe O
(2015)
Corrosion fatigue load frequency sensitivity analysis
in Marine Structures
Adedipe T
(2020)
Bayesian Network Modelling for the Wind Energy Industry: An Overview
in Reliability Engineering & System Safety
Ahmad T
(2018)
Field Implementation and Trial of Coordinated Control of WIND Farms
in IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy
Ahmad Tanvir
(2017)
Wind farm coordinated control and optimisation
Al-Baghdadi T
(2017)
Effects of vertical loading on lateral screw pile performance
in Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering
Al-Baghdadi T
(2017)
Offshore Site Investigation Geotechnics 8th International Conference Proceedings
AL-BEGHDADI T
(2016)
Development of an inflight centrifuge screw pile installation and loading system
Al-Mashhadani W
(2018)
Measurements and modelling of radar signatures of large wind turbine using multiple sensors
| Description | The EU has a binding target of 20% of energy to come from renewables by 2020, with an associated CO2 emissions reduction target of 20% (relative to 1990) and a 20% reduction on energy usage by the same date. This is the so-called 20/20/20 target. To meet this target, 13GW of wind power have been installed onshore and 8.5GW offshore by September 2019. Furthermore, under the Sector Deal between the Offshore Wind Industry Council and the UK Government, the targets for offshore wind are 30GW by 2030 and 50GW by 2050. To meet these ambitious future targets, whilst minimising the cost of energy, the trends are towards wind farms and wind turbines being sited further offshore in deeper water and becoming bigger, with associated design, operational and logistical challenges. Supergen Wind Hub brought together leading wind energy academic research groups in the UK to address the medium term challenges of scaling up to multiple wind farms, considering how to better build, operate and maintain multi-GW arrays of wind turbines whilst providing a reliable source of electricity whose characteristics can be effectively integrated into a modern power system such as that in the UK. Improved understanding of the wind resource over both short and long terms, the interaction of wakes within a wind farm and the turbine loads and their impact on reliability is required. The layout of the farms, including foundations, impact on radar and power systems and shore-connection needs to be optimised. The most effective and efficient operation of wind farms requires them to act as virtual conventional power plants flexibly responding to the current conditions, the wind turbines' state and operational demands and grid-integration requirements. The programme of research undertaken by the Supergen Wind Energy Hub has made progress in meeting all of the above requirements, both at the level of single farms and of clusters of farms. |
| Exploitation Route | The successful outputs from the Supergen Wind Hub programme have been made available through our website and through research repositories such as Researchfish and Pure. Activities developed through the Supergen Wind Hub programme will continue to be progressed through links to the new Supergen ORE Hub with 2 members of the Supergen Wind Consortium being Co-Directors of the latter and with others having representation on the new Hub's advisory boards and research alignment groups. Our findings will be progressed in a number of ways, a few examples of which are noted below. WP0 Enabling Facilities - The Offshore Wind Energy Geographical Information System (GIS) database developed in Phase 2 was updated, and is now available to be used in other research projects. Many years of SCADA data from an operational wind farm have been obtained, and are available for use once a data confidentiality agreement has been signed - access has already been granted to a leading academic research team, and to an InnovateUK project. WP4.3 Mapping and specification for the best use of UK based test facilities for wind technologies. The work focused on the mapping of test facilities for wind energy research available in the UK at different TRLs. A directory of facilities which will be of general use to the wind energy research and development community in the UK and Europe was created, and is publicly available. WP2.3 Assessment of economic and environmental impacts. A disaggregated IO modelling of offshore wind, separately identifying offshore wind in the economic accounts, and a database, providing a computable general equilibrium model for the UK, have been produced and an illustrative cost-benefit analysis of offshore wind development in the UK has been developed. This will be used to help influence future policy decisions. |
| Sectors | Electronics Energy Environment |
| URL | https://www.supergen-wind.org.uk/ |
| Description | The X-rotor concept is now being taken to higher TRL levels through direct funding from industry. Initial discussions regarding a field demonstration are being discussed. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Energy |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | Beesley Lecture by Professor Richard Green, Imperial College London & Institute of Directors |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Now in their 27th year, The Beesley Lectures have consistently featured outstanding addresses from high-profile thought leaders drawn from academia, government and industry. Continuing in this tradition, this year's speakers will deliver expert insight into the most pressing issues in regulatory economics today. Professor Richard Green from ICL presented a session discussing 'How will storage and decentralisation change the energy market?'. |
| URL | https://www.marketforce.eu.com/events/economics-regulation/beesley-lectures#tabdayday-4 |
| Description | Cranfield University are the leaders for the Joint Industry Project Offshore Wind Structural Lifecycle Industry Collaboration (SLIC). The collaboration project aims to redefine international standards. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/case-studies/research-case-studies/slic |
| Description | EERA Design Tools for Offshore Clusters (DTOC) - Professor Olimpo Anaya-Lara is a leader of the research activity of power systems and grid integration |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The EERA DTOC project aimed to deliver robust and efficient software for planning of offshore wind farm clusters. The user requirements from industrial partners formed the basis for deciding on model integration and functionality. The many models that were available in the EERA consortium have been developed in previous projects, often through national funding. This was the first time a systematic effort to efficiently integrate the software has been performed. The software has been intensively validated during the project. The validation is based on wind farm production data from several large wind farms. Additionally, new experimental observations from scanning lidar and wind-profiling lidar on a moving platform (ship) as well as high resolution satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images have been applied for validation of wind farm wake models. The developed tool describes a new design tool based on open interfaces. This enables future integration of other software. The spin-off tool from the project is called Wind & Economy. The tool was used during the project by the partners to model several common test cases, so-called scenarios. These ranged from state of the art current practice for large offshore wind farms near the coast, through cluster scale wind farm planning very far offshore and to strategic planning of a far-future scenario around the year 2030. In total, the consortium, the lead partners, the External Advisory Board and the project reviewers see a large potential for the exploitation of the final software product. While smaller national projects may extend the integration of single purpose models, future funding in the framework of EU R&D projects may also lead to structural extension to new application fields, like O&M strategies and wind farm operations. |
| URL | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/101241/reporting/en |
| Description | EERA Integrated Research Project Wind (IRPWIND) - Professor Olimpo Anaya-Lara is a core member |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | http://www.irpwind.eu/core-research-projects |
| Description | EERA JP Wind Steering Committee Membership - Professor William Leithead |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| URL | http://www.eera-set.eu/wp-content/uploads/20015_EERA_JP_Wind.pdf |
| Description | Electrical Infrastructure Research Hub (EIRH) - Professor Olimpo Anaya-Lara is leader of the 'smart energy systems of the future' theme |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://ore.catapult.org.uk/work-with-us/our-collaborations/electrical-infrastructures-research-hub/ |
| Description | IEA WIND Task 25 phase 4 (2015-17) |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Professor Olimpo Anaya-Lara and Dr David Campos-Gaona participated in the IEA Wind Task 25 Meetings 2015-2018. They are involved in the generation of Final report of IEA WIND Task 25 phase 4 (2015-17) and are writing a Joint Paper of Control of Wind Power Plant for Ancillary Services Provision. |
| URL | https://community.ieawind.org/task25/home |
| Description | Leithead is the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) Wind Theme Coordinator |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| URL | https://www.etp-scotland.ac.uk/AbouttheETP/Organisation/ETPThemeGroups.aspx |
| Description | Member of the Wind Integration Sub-Programme of the EERA Joint Programe Wind (JP Wind) - Professor Olimpo Anaya-Lara |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.eerajpwind.eu/subprogrammes/ |
| Description | Offshore Wind Innovation Hub (OWIH) - Professor William Leithead was invited to be a member of the Advisory Group for this new venture |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://ore.catapult.org.uk/our-services/owih/ |
| Description | Private report for Crown Estate Scotland (CES) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Professor Peter McGregor (Strathclyde) has contributed a private report for Crown Estate Scotland (CES) on the links between offshore activity and economic impacts for the UK. |
| Description | Professor Mike Barnes, Manchester University is a member of the Cigre Study Group B4-57. CIGRE has 3500 experts from around the world working actively together in structured work programmes coordinated by the CIGRE 16 Study Committees |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| URL | http://b4.cigre.org/ |
| Description | Professor Richard Green, Imperial College London (SUPERGEN Wind collaborative partner) submitted findings on wind farm degradation as evidnece to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee and to the Chief Scientific Advisor to DECC |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Professor William Leithead (PI of SUPERGEN Wind Hub) is Wind Energy Coordinator for ETP (Energy Technology Partnership) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| URL | http://www.etp-scotland.ac.uk/ETPforAcademics.aspx |
| Description | Professor William Leithead is a member of the Scottish Government Offshore Wind Industry Critical Path Working Group |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Energy-sources/19185/offshorewind |
| Description | Professor William Leithead is deputy chair of the ORECatapult Research Advisory Board; Professor Feargal Brennan and Professor Simon Watson are members of the Board |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://ore.catapult.org.uk/who-we-work-with/research-academia/research-advisory-group/ |
| Description | STFC (SUPERGEN Wind partner) is a core partner of the UKERC with particular responsibility for the UKERC Energy Data Centre and Research Atlas. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| URL | http://ukerc.rl.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Aurelio Medina-Rios, Conacyt-British Council Institutional Links (Newton Fund) |
| Amount | £79,150 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Newton Fund |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2016 |
| End | 04/2017 |
| Description | EC H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017 |
| Amount | € 546,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 765579 |
| Organisation | H2O Venture Partners |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2017 |
| End | 10/2021 |
| Description | EPSRC Feasibility Studies in Energy Research 2017 |
| Amount | £116,775 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R001472/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2017 |
| End | 10/2018 |
| Description | EPSRC Programme Grant |
| Amount | £3,050,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P009743/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2017 |
| End | 04/2020 |
| Description | EPSRC Prosperity Partnership Call |
| Amount | £7,640,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R004900/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2017 |
| End | 11/2022 |
| Description | EPSRC UK/China ORE call |
| Amount | £809,108 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R007756/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2017 |
| End | 06/2020 |
| Description | EPSRC UK/China ORE call |
| Amount | £766,237 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R007497/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2017 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | EU H2020 Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowships SAFS |
| Amount | £173,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 753156 |
| Organisation | European Commission H2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 07/2017 |
| End | 08/2028 |
| Description | European Regional Development Fund Special European Union Project Board |
| Amount | £1,079,093 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 03/2017 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Grant |
| Amount | € 314,537 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Horizon 2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 12/2017 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | PECRE17 - ETP Postgraduate and Early Career Researcher Exchanges Award |
| Amount | £3,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2017 |
| End | 01/2018 |
| Description | Wind Blade Research Hub with ORE Catapult (OREC) |
| Amount | £2,100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | ORE Catapult |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2017 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Title | UK Input-Output table disaggregated by electricity production sectors |
| Description | The original electricity sector in the Input-Output (IO) table for the UK is disaggregated into two components, non-generation and generation (which we separate further into different technologies). The IO table also splits out different types of labour, and the transactions of UK households (by income quintile). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Title | Wind-Tunnel Simulation of Approximately Horizontally Homogeneous Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layers |
| Description | 2 component Laser Doppler Anemometry measurements made in the Environmental flow Wind Tunnel at Surrey University, correlated with a cold wire to determine the longitudinal and vertical heat flux in a stable boundary layer with an overlying inversion. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Wind-Tunnel_Simulation_of_Approximately_Horizontally_Homogeneo... |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Associate Member - Imperial College London |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Bioengineering |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | SUPERGEN Wind awarded funds to Imperial College London (Professor Richard Greene) as part of the Grand Challenges funding program. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The research project entitled 'Maximising the Carbon Impact of Wind Power' has links to the research program undertaken by partners of the Hub' |
| Impact | This research project has resulted in conference presentations and publications to date. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Associate Member - University of Bristol |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Department | School of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | SUPERGEN Wind awarded funds to the University of Bristol (Professor Paul Weaver) as part of the Grand Challenges funding award. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners are involved in the Grand Challenges research project entitled 'Servo-aeroelastic tailoring of wind turbines using new active-to-passive control systems' |
| Impact | The project has resulted in conference presentations and publications to date. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Associate Member - University of Dundee |
| Organisation | University of Dundee |
| Department | Division of Mathematics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | SUPERGEN Wind awarded funds to the University of Dundee (Dr Michael Brown) as part of the Grand Challenges funding scheme. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners are involved in the research project entitled 'Screw piles for wind energy foundation systems' |
| Impact | The project has resulted in conference presentations and publications to date. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Associate Member - University of Oxford |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Department | MRC Human Immunology Unit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | SUPERGEN Wind awarded funds to the University of Oxford (Professor Byron Byrne and Professor Guy Houlsby) as part of the Flexible Funding Round 1 award scheme. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners are involved in the research project entitled 'Integrated structural and foundation health monitoring for offshore wind turbines' |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Associate Member - University of Surrey |
| Organisation | University of Surrey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | SUPERGEN Wind awarded funds to the University of Surrey (Dr Phil Hancock) as part of the Grand Challenges funding scheme |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners are involved in the Grand Challenges research project entitled: MAXFARM (MAXimizing wind Farm Aerodynamic Resource via advanced Modelling) |
| Impact | This collaboration has resulted in conference presentations and publications. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Cranfield University |
| Organisation | Cranfield University |
| Department | Cranfield Forensic Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Cranfield University are a partner in the SUPERGEN Wind Hub |
| Collaborator Contribution | nternationally leading research into wind turbine support structures has been conducted for a number of years and significant contributions to driving down the levelised cost of energy from offshore wind have been made. |
| Impact | Outputs are listed under the appropriate category |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Inudstry Partner: OREC (Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult) |
| Organisation | Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Professor William Leithead (Strathclyde) is deputy chair of the OREC Research Advisory Group. A number of joint initiatives are underway to strengthen the collaboration between industry and the SUPERGEN Wind research community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Feargal Brennan (Cranfield) and Professor Simon Watson (Loughborough) are both members of the OREC Research Advisory Group. A number of joint initiatives are underway to strengthen the collaboration between industry and the partners of SUPERGEN Wind Hub. |
| Impact | The current Flexible Funding award (Round 2) for the consortium funding relates to projects related to the OREC Levenmouth 7MW wind turbine. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Loughborough University |
| Organisation | Loughborough University |
| Department | School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Loughborough University are a founding member of the SUPERGEN Wind Hub |
| Collaborator Contribution | A major contribution has been made in the area of wind resource, onshore and offshore, research. The first comprehensive study of UK long term wind variability has been made for both on the national and regional scale. Also, for the first time, mesoscale modelling of the wind resource for the offshore environment has been undertaken and validated at three offshore masts. Offshore thermal stratification has been shown to be important in the prediction of offshore resource and wake losses. Making use of CFD for resource assessment, modelling of forest canopies for predicting wind speed and turbulence conditions near prospective wind farms has been improved. Better modelling and understanding of large array wind farm wake losses has been achieved including the first major study of turbulence intensity in a large offshore wind farm and the ability of semi-empirical models (such as the Frandsen model) to predict this. Another major contribution has been made in the area of wind turbine fault detection research. One of the first demonstrations, that mechanical drive-train faults can be detected in generator power signals, negating the need for additional vibration sensors, had been achieved. Contributions have, also, been made to the use of SCADA data for wind turbine fault detection, using both physically based damage models and parametric models, to predict expected levels of damage, where results have been validated against large fleets of turbines. |
| Impact | Outputs are listed under the appropriate category |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Organisation | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
| Department | Particle Physics Department |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | STFC are a founding member of the SUPERGEN Wind Hub |
| Collaborator Contribution | The major contributions have been the creation of a GIS model with which to assess the economic potential of offshore wind, the acquisition from a small wind farm of SCADA data for use by UK academic researchers, and the agreement of the UKERC Energy Data Centre to curate and distribute data relevant to wind energy researchers, including the GIS and SCADA data. In addition, a parametric aero-elastic blade model with greater detail than existing models has been developed. |
| Impact | Outputs are listed under the appropriate category |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind Hub: University of Manchester |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Department | School of Biological Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The University of Manchester are a founding member of the SUPERGEN Wind Hub |
| Collaborator Contribution | he impact of offshore wind farms on safety critical radar mounted on oil platform mounted is of major concern to key stakeholders. State-of-the-art models of the interaction of wind farms and radar have been developed and extended to include complex multi-platform marine radar cases. A recent publication was the best propagation paper at the 2016 EUCAP, the leading European conference in antennas and propagation. HVDC connections have been investigated and weaknesses been identified with existing modelling techniques for converters and cables. New models have been developed for use with transient software packages. A set of reliability studies have been undertaken for HVDC to overcome a shortage of information in this area. New concepts for HVDC control and DC protection have been developed. In parallel multi-physics models for wind turbines have been developed, allowing the reduction of thermal stresses for the converter. Within the context of condition monitoring, methods for more reliable diagnostics of wind turbine drive-train faults have been developed through fusion of vibration, acoustic and electrical signal. This can re-duce the large number of false alarms and improve turbine utilisation through condition-based mainte-nance strategies and ultimately turbine control. A new real-time frequency tracking algorithm has been developed. Versatile and cost-effective fibre-optic based accelerometers have also been developed for drive train fault detection. To improve durability of wind turbine blades, new finite element models have been developed to better understand and design composite joints with the textile geometry details and damage, due to static and fatigue loading, captured through X-ray imaging. During the fabrication process, residual stresses can develop in fibre reinforced plastics that in combination with mechanical loading could lead to premature eventual failure. The fabrication process, including for smart fibres, have been investigated. |
| Impact | Outputs are listed under the appropriate category |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind: Durham University |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Department | Department of Theology and Religion |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Durham University are a founding partner of the EPSRC Supergen Wind Hub and make ongoing contributions to the research outputs. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The principal contribution is to reducing the cost of wind energy through the development of improved asset management technologies and monitoring/modelling methodologies. An innovative new sideband-based condition monitoring technique has been developed that allows emergent faults to be detected against the background condition monitoring signal noise at a much earlier stage than is possible with existing established industry methods. Data mining techniques have been applied to wind turbine SCADA data and used to successfully detect emerge faults at an earlier stage of their development than was previously possible. Statistical wind farm models have been developed that allow the impact of different O&M strategies on the cost of energy generated over the life of the farm to be investigated. All of the new methods, that have been developed, are validated against site and test-rig data, including experimental data for simulated mechanical and electrical wind turbine drive train system faults. In addition, a new dual-axis testing methodology for fatigue testing of large horizontal axis wind turbine blades, which improves accuracy and reduces test costs has been developed. |
| Impact | Outputs are listed under the appropriate category. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | 4th Project Aura RDI workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The Durham team, led by Prof Simon Hogg, attended the 4th Aura RDI workshop held in Durham on Friday 2nd February 2018 as part of the set-up phase of the new 'Project Aura' collaboration involving Siemens, Ørsted and the Universities of Durham, Hull and Sheffield. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://aurawindenergy.com/learn-more |
| Description | Bristol University's active participation in the IEA Task 37 on wind turbine optimisations at DTU |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Active participation in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Task 37 on Wind Turbine Optimisations at DTU. Task 37 focuses on Systems Modeling Framework and Ontology for Wind Turbines and Plants. The purpose of IEA Wind Task 37 is to coordinate international research activities, towards the analysis of wind power plants as holistic systems. To fully assess how a change, or an uncertainty, in a design parameter affects the myriad of objectives in system performance and cost, a holistic and integrated approach is needed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://windbench.net/iea37 |
| Description | ETI Office, Loughborough |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | ETI OSW SAG Meeting, Holywell Way, Loughborough |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| Description | EWEA European Wind Energy Association |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Committee Member of EWEA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| Description | European Energy Research Alliance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Member of the Steering Committee for the European Energy Research Alliance Joint Programme on Wind Energy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| Description | Futurewind Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Futurewind is an annual conference which is run entirely by postgraduate students from the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) for Wind And Marine Energy Systems. The event is free, and attracts over 100 participants, half of whom are from the Wind Energy industry, making it an important engagement and networking activity.The event comprises of a mix of oral presentations by final year PhD students and sponsors. The CDT and SUPERGEN Wind Hub members have a close linkage, and are lead by Hub members. SUPERGEN Wind and the CDT share a common Industrial Advisory Board. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017 |
| URL | http://www.strath.ac.uk/windenergy/futurewind2017/ |
| Description | Leithead membership of the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub (OWIH) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Leithead (Strathclyde) is one of the members of the OWIH. The purpose of the OWIH is to coordinate across the entire innovation landscape for offshore wind in the UK. The OWIH is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and delivered jointly by the ORE Catapult and the Knowledge Transfer Network, and allows the Hub the opportunity to input to road mapping exercises and influence future innovation activities across the energy sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
| URL | https://offshorewindinnovationhub.com/ |
| Description | Leithead's role as Wind Energy Theme Coordinator for the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Leithead (Strathclyde), in his role as Wind Energy Theme Coordinator, chaired the discussion session 'Wind Energy; towards meeting 2030 targets' at the ETP Energy Innovation Emporium in May 2017. The aim of the session was to bring together the three sectors in Wind Energy - academia, industry and policy makers - to discuss opportunities for innovation and collaboration that will support the delivery of outcomes arising from the draft Scottish Government Energy Strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| URL | https://www.etp-scotland.ac.uk/NewsandEvents/Events/ETPEmporiumEvent2017.aspx |
| Description | Norwegian Research Centre for Offshore Wind Energy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Member of Scientific Advisory Board of (NORCOWE) Norwegian Centre for Offshore Wind Energy, Bergen, Norway |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| Description | Presentation at University of Exeter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at University of Exeter |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Professor Simon Watson, Loughborough University - engagement with China through the High End Expert Programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Professor Simon Watson was invited to visit China twice as a recognised expert in wind power, particularly with regard to O&M, and funding was obtained at the Changsha University of Science and Technology from the Chinese government to facilitate this through the High End Expert Programme. These China visits have led to a letter of intent which is being signed between Loughborough University, the Hunan Ulitech Automation System Company, XEMC Windpower, Changsha University of Science Technology and Xiangtan University to cooperate in the development of SCADA and PLC technologies for intelligent autonomous wind farm condition monitoring. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Research Advisory Group of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Member of the Research Advisory Group of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| Description | Role in the Supergen ORE Hub Industrial Advisory Board - Leithead |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The inaugural meeting of the Supergen ORE Hub Industry Advisory Board was held in January 2019, to determine how the Hub engages with the energy sector, and to discuss technology and policy support for the Hub. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Role in the Supergen ORE Hub Research Alignment Group - Brown, Hancock, Leithead, Weaver |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Supergen ORE Hub is creating an ORE Research Landscape that maps the research needs and activity across ORE. This Research Landscape will be a web-based portal maintained and updated by the Supergen ORE Hub for academia, industry, government, and the public: (i) to collate, disseminate and promote the full range of ORE research underway in the UK (ii) to host a list of research challenges and opportunities developed with ORE stakeholders (iii) to allow prioritisation of research resources by the Hub, by the EPSRC and by others. The Supergen ORE Hub will develop, maintain and update the ORE Research Landscape in consultation through the Research Alignment Group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.supergen-ore.net/ |
| Description | SUPERGEN Wind General Assembly Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The SUPERGEN Wind General Assembly Conference is scheduled twice per year and attracts over 80 attendees. This free event showcases wind energy research carried out by universities within the EPSRC's SUPERGEN Wind Hub Consortium, and includes presentations by national and international experts in the field of Wind Energy. The Hub encourages researchers, commercial and industrial organisations working in the UK to come along and network with other organisations working in wind energy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.supergen-wind.org.uk/resources |
| Description | Wind Energy Strategy Advisory Group (SAG) of the Energy Technology Institute |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Member of the Wind Energy Strategy Advisory Group (SAG) of the Energy Technology Institute |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| Description | futureWind&Marine 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | futureWind&Marine is the Wind and Marine Energy Systems CDT annual conference. Final year students present their research while students in the 1st and 2nd years of their PhD display posters outlining their work. The CDT has close links with industry and numerous PhD's in the CDT are undertaken in collaboration with companies involved in the wind and marine sectors. futureWind&Marine provides a great platform to engage with the cutting edge research being undertaken in the CDT. It also presents an ideal opportunity to kick start partnerships for future research and innovation. The event also features talks from CDT alumni, now working in the energy industry, detailing how the CDT aided their career. Supergen Wind has close links with futureWind&Marine, and the CDT is lead by the Director of Supergen Wind - Professor Bill Leithead. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.strath.ac.uk/engineering/electronicelectricalengineering/windmarineenergysystems/futurew... |