Design Studies for Deep-Water Floating Offshore Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

Technical Report · Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1459118· OSTI ID:1459118

Griffith, D. Todd ^[1]; Barone, Matthew F. ^[1]; Paquette, Joshua ^[1]; Owens, Brian Christopher ^[1]; Bull, Diana L. ^[1]; Simao-Ferriera, Carlos ^[2]; Goupee, Andrew ^[3]; Fowler, Matt ^[3]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands)
3. Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States)

Deep-water offshore sites are an untapped opportunity to bring large-scale offshore wind energy to coastal population centers. The primary challenge has been the projected high costs for floating offshore wind systems. This work presents a comprehensive investigation of a new opportunity for deep-water offshore wind using large-scale vertical axis wind turbines. Owing to inherent features of this technology, there is a potential transformational opportunity to address the major cost drivers for floating wind using vertical axis wind turbines. The focus of this report is to evaluate the technical potential for this new technology. The approach to evaluating this potential was to perform system design studies focused on improving the understanding of technical performance parameters while looking for cost reduction opportunities. VAWT design codes were developed in order to perform these design studies. To gain a better understanding of the design space for floating VAWT systems, a comprehensive design study of multiple rotor configuration options was carried out. Floating platforms and moorings were then sized and evaluated for each of the candidate rotor configurations. Preliminary LCOE estimates and LCOE ranges were produced based on the design study results for each of the major turbine and system components. The major outcomes of this study are a comprehensive technology assessment of VAWT performance and preliminary LCOE estimates that demonstrate that floating VAWTs may have favorable performance and costs in comparison to conventional HAWTs in the deep-water offshore environment where floating systems are required, indicating that this new technology warrants further study.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Hydropower Technology Program
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1459118
• Report Number(s): SAND-2018-7002; 665223
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English