Posters
Come meet the poster presenters to ask them questions and discuss their work
We would like to invite you to come and see the posters at our upcoming conference. The posters will showcase a diverse range of research topics, and will give delegates an opportunity to engage with the authors and learn more about their work. Whether you are a seasoned researcher or simply curious about the latest developments in your field, we believe that the posters will offer something of interest to everyone. So please join us at the conference and take advantage of this opportunity to learn and engage with your peers in the academic community. We look forward to seeing you there!
PO307: The Windcatcher: an alternative approach to floating offshore wind operations & maintenance utilizing multi-rotor technology
Ørjan Fredriksen, Vice President Global Design, Wind Catching Systems AS
Abstract
Although the floating offshore wind industry is still in its early beginnings, there are certain overarching pain points that seem recurring across technologies and geographic areas. The complexity associated with on-site maintenance of floating wind turbines is evident, as it requires advanced and costly infrastructure and is heavily reliant on weather conditions. Alternatively, the turbine may be brought to port for maintenance, incurring high cost related to prolonged production downtime and extensive marine operations. Considering the ever-increasing turbine size trend and a scarce fleet of suitable maintenance vessels, maintenance will likely remain a primary operational expenditure (OPEX) driver in upcoming floating wind developments. To address the maintenance strategy challenge in floating offshore wind, a fundamentally different concept employing several smaller, standardised low-complexity turbines in a multi-rotor configuration has been developed. The concept consists of a turbine array supported by a semi-submersible floater with an on-board turbine handling system to facilitate on-site maintenance work without the need for specialized vessels or extended production downtime. The concept has the potential to significantly reduce project OPEX, and at the same time allows for scaling of production capacity by number of turbines installed on each unit. Inherent in the multi-rotor concept is also an increased acreage efficiency, both in terms of surface and seabed footprint. The technology development undertaken to arrive at the Wind Catcher concept will be presented and discussed, with primary focus on operations & maintenance (O&M) strategies. Case studies will be presented across a range of wind farm configurations, covering maintenance philosophy, vessel & crew logistics and levelized cost of electricity (LCoE) modelling with a benchmarking against conventional single-turbine configurations. The goal is to showcase an alternative approach to floating offshore wind development which may be adapted independently or in combination with other technology concepts in a wind farm.
