Resilient Integrated-Coupled FOW platform design methodology (ResIn)

This project will enhance the design and development of floating offshore renewables, in particular offshore floating wind as commercially viable electricity infrastructure through a risk based approach allowing to build resilience against extreme events. The socio-economic challenge is the increasing energy need in emerging economies, such as China, which causes grave air pollution and CO2 emissions. The project work focusses on China, where heavy air pollution alone is estimated to have caused 2.2million premature deaths. Sustainable energy generation, thus replacing coal-fired power plants is one of the solutions to address this problem. In China specifically, the energy demand is at its highest along the industrialised and densely populated coastal regions. The challenge for a renewable energy supply is that the solar, wind and hydro resource are primarily located in the NW and SW of China and electricity transmission via the grid is already constrained. The Chinese government therefore has identified offshore wind energy as one of the primary energy resources with a potential of over 500GW of installed capacity, capable to produce up to 1,500 TWh of electricity per year, which would offset as many as 340 coal-fired power stations. Whilst initial installations in shallow waters near the coast have been made, over 1/3rd of the resource is located in deeper water (>40m) and will require floating installations.

Offshore wind energy generation is currently more expensive than fossil fuels in China, and the risk of typhoon damage is high. The project has a fourfold approach: 1.Enhanced environmental modelling to accurately determine extreme loadings; 2. Assessment of novel, porous floating offshore wind structures and active damping mechanisms; 3. Enhanced numerical modelling techniques to efficiently calculate the complex coupled behaviour of floating wind turbines; 4. Risk based optimisation of devised designs and engineering implications.

This combined approach is carried through distinguished scientific research expertise and leading industry partners in the field of offshore wind. To maximise the impact and benefits of this research the project places large emphasis on knowledge exchange activities, industry liaison and the establishment of cross-country research capacity to foster the global commercial realisation of offshore floating wind energy.

The project is an interdisciplinary, cross-country collaboration with leading research Universities and industry partners. The academic expertise from the University of Exeter, the University of Edinburgh and University of Bath in the areas of Environmental assessment and modelling, Hydrodynamic design, Advanced computational modelling and risk based reliability engineering is matched with Dalian University of Technology and Zhejiang University as two of the leading Chinese research institutions in Ocean Engineering and Offshore Renewable Energy.

Whilst the project carries out fundamental engineering research, strong industrial partnerships in both countries will facilitate industry advice and subsequent research uptake. The strong industrial UK support for this project through the ORE Catapult, DNV-GL, ITPE is matched with wider international support through EDF (France) and DSA (Canada), as well as the Chinese project partners MingYang Wind Power Ltd (3rd largest wind manufacturer in China), the National Ocean Technology Centre, NOTC, (institutional responsibility for marine spatial planning) and the 'Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute', SIDRI (State-owned offshore wind project developer in China), demonstrates the timeliness and industrial relevance of the proposed research. All partners are committed to support the establishment of a long-lasting research base to develop resilient and cost effective offshore floating wind energy systems through collaborative research and innovation efforts, as well as capacity building and knowledge exchange.

The challenges facing the development of offshore renewable energy (ORE), in particular floating wind energy in China have led the research focus for this proposal. The project impact will be achieved through innovative designs and an enhanced understanding of the complex aero-hydro-elastic coupling of floating offshore wind turbines in order to improve their resilience in extreme environmental loadings. The impact of the proposed research will be in three different domains: i) industrial application of innovative research; ii) supporting planning decision-making through enhanced environmental characterisation for offshore wind and iii) sustained cross-country collaboration:

i) The research targeted in this proposal will directly benefit the innovation capacity of the research institutions and industry partners. In this capacity, the project will bring together the research expertise in hydrodynamics with a leading offshore wind company in China, MingYang Wind Power Ltd, the Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute (SIDRI) and the National Ocean Technology Centre (NOTC) in China. SIDR and NOTC are instrumental for offshore wind planning, consenting and installation activities in China. The national importance for the UK is twofold, strengthening and export of research and offshore wind services for floating offshore wind to China and beyond. The proposed research innovation will further enhance the market opportunities for UK plc, incl. DNV-GL; ITPE. Moreover, the research uptake of key international actors for floating offshore wind, such as EDF and DSA will strengthen the UK research leadership in this area.

ii) The Chinese project partner NOTC, is a subsidiary of the State Ocean Administration (SOA) which is closely consulting with the National Energy Administration (NEA) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEA) in China. These governmental institutions and wider ORE community will benefit from enhanced environmental and engineering assessment methodologies and engineering designs directed to ORE technologies. Advancing environmental resource assessment techniques and generating resultant data, with a focus towards localised environmental conditions and extremes, will be an essential criteria for the project. The research vision is to support the development of FOW through cost reduction, which in turn enables social and economic benefits, primarily to address implications of high levels of air pollution.

iii) The project emphasises the strategic importance of the research areas and the sustained collaboration between research institutes and industrial stakeholders. The project will aim to establish a cross-national UK-China knowledge exchange that is strongly aligned with other successful ORE call projects as well as the UK Centre for Marine Energy (UKCMER) and the upcoming ORE Supergen, allowing a strong bilateral interface to UK and Chinese academic institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations and industry partners. Whilst this project addresses present knowledge gaps associated to current FOW in China, a continued knowledge exchange culture will enable a long-term strategy to address technical and socio-economic challenges and to translate research outcomes into a sustainable growth of FOW. All partners are committed to support the establishment of a long-lasting research base to address the sustainable infrastructure challenge by focusing fundamental research towards the commercial realisation of Floating Offshore Wind (FOW).