For achieving the European renewable electricity targets, a significant contribution is foreseen to come from offshore wind energy. Considering the large scale of the future planned offshore wind farms and the increasing distances to shore, grid integration through a transnational DC network is desirable for several reasons. This article investigates a nine-node DC grid connecting three norther...

Global wind power and photovoltaic (PV) installed capacities are growing at very high rates (20% per year and 60% per year, respectively). These technologies require large, ‘up-front’ energetic investments. Conceptually, as these industries grow, some proportion of their electrical output is ‘re-invested’ to support manufacture and deployment of new generation capacity. As variable and intermit...

These products and services need to target a reduction in the levelised cost of energy (LCoE), optimise energy yield or reduce the need for unnecessary access to larger turbines in deeper water, further from shore. In addition, there are major opportunities for the UK to build on its existing strengths and experience to deliver exportable products and services into the global offshore wind O&M ...

Monin-Obukhov theory predicts the well-known log-linear form of the vertical wind speed profile. Two parameters, namely the aerodynamic surface roughness length and the Monin-Obukhov-length, are needed to predict the vertical wind speed profile from a measurement at one height. Different models to estimate these parameters for conditions important for offshore wind energy utilisation are discus...

Offshore wind turbines are considered as an important element of the future energy infrastructure. There is currently a surge in the construction of such facilities in Europe, yet there is no track record of long-term performance of these structures. Offshore wind turbines are dynamically sensitive structures because of the very nature of the structural form (tall and slender) and the different...

Renewable energy facilities will constitute a major contribution to electrical power in the future. The wind turbine will, together with biomass, form the major renewables parts up to year 2030 including erection of offshore wind farms. The wind is a non-storable energy source, whose electric energy needs priming into interchangeable energy to be competitive for large-scale power generation. An...

Doppler lidars are frequently operated in a mode referred to as arc scans, wherein the lidar beam scans across a sector with a fixed elevation angle and the resulting measurements are used to derive an estimate of the nminute horizontal mean wind velocity (speed and direction). Previous studies have shown that the uncertainty in the measured wind speed originates from turbulent wind fluctuation...

There are plans to start building offshore marine renewable energy devices throughout the Mediterranean and the Adriatic has been identified as a key location for wind farm developments. The development of offshore wind farms in the area would provide hard substrata for the settlement of sessile benthos. Since the seafloor of the Adriatic is predominantly sedimentary this may alter the larval c...

Climate solutions – nuclear vs sustainable pathways • Energy efficiency represents an economic bonanza, which will enable a significant share of energy demand to be provided by renewable sources and allowing nuclear power to be phased out. • The biggest single obstacle to improving energy efficiency is that in most countries, utilities are rewarded for selling more energy. We need to reward the...