REASSESSMENT OF LILLGRUND OFFSHORE WIND FARM USING WINDPRO

A Project by

HASEEB AHMAD

Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Gotland University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN WIND POWER PROJECT MANAGEMTENT June, 2012 Major Subject: "Energy Technology" Master of science in Wind Power Project Management 2012

REASSESSMENT OF LILLGRUND OFFSHORE WIND FARM USING WINDPRO

A Project by HASEEB AHMAD Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Gotland University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN WIND POWER PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Examiner:

Dr. Bahri Uzunoglu June, 2012

Major Subject: "Energy Technology"

ABSTRACT

The objective of this project is to reassess the Lillgrund Offshore Wind Farm using WindPRO as a design tool. In this project, current layout of Lillgrund Wind Farm is used along with available wind resources. The project consists of brief description of the project in terms of location, components of the wind farm, their specifications and different calculation modules using WindPRO. The project is reassessed in terms of Environmental Impact (noise, shadow and visual impact) Annual Energy Production and Electrical Losses. The results obtained from the calculations are compared with actual results and the difference between calculated and actual results is discussed.

NOMENCLATURE

GWh Km MW MWh GPS kV mm2 MVA kVA WAsP NCAR

Giga Watt hour Kilometer Mega Watt Mega Watt hour Global Positioning System Kilo Volt Sq. Millimeter Mega Volt Ampere Kilo Volt Ampere Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program National Center for Atmospheric Research

Contents
LIST OF FIGURES .i LIST OF TABLES .ii Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1

Project Description ..................................................................................................................... 1 History ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Chapter 2 Wind Farm Components ............................................................................................. 2

Foundations ................................................................................................................................ 2 Turbines ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Substations.................................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 3 Calculations .............................................................................................................. 10

Noise ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Shadow ................................................................................................................................. 11 Visual Impact........................................................................................................................ 11 Annual Energy Production ................................................................................................... 13 Electrical Losses ................................................................................................................... 14 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 15 VITA ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 17

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Lillgrund Offshore Wind Farm Location ........................................................................ 1 Figure 2. A tug takes the barge with four foundations from Poland to Lillgrund .......................... 3 Figure 3. Eide Barge 5 .................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 4. The Sea Power Vessel ..................................................................................................... 6 Figure 5. Lillgrund Wind Farm Cable Layout ................................................................................ 7 Figure 6. View from Klagshamn harbour 5.3 km ......................................................................... 12 Figure 7. View from Klagshamn harbour 5.3 km using WindPRO ............................................. 12

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Specifications of Wind Turbines ...................................................................................... 5 Table 2. Characteristics of vessel used for foundation and turbine installation (Eide Barge 5) ..... 5 Table 3.Characteristics of vessels used for cable installation (CS Pleijel) (Nautilus Maxi) .......... 8 Table 4. Noise Calculations of Lillgrund Wind Farm .................................................................. 10 Table 5. Shadow Calculations of Lillgrund Wind Farm............................................................... 11 Table 6. Annual energy production results comparing different wake models and wind distributions .................................................................................................................................. 13 Table 7. Actual production of Lillgrund wind farm ..................................................................... 14 Table 8. Electrical losses of Lillgrund wind farm ........................................................................ 14

Chapter 1 Introduction
Project Description
The Lillgrund wind farm is the largest offshore wind farm of Sweden designed to meet the electricity demand of more than 60,000 homes. The wind farm consists of 48 Siemens 2.3 Mk II wind turbines. The total wind power plant capacity is 110 MW and an approximate annual generation is 330 GWh. The wind power plant includes an offshore substation, an onshore substation and 130 kV sea and land cable for connection to the shore. The Lillgrund offshore wind farm is located in a shallow area of resund, 7 km off the coast of Sweden and 9 km off the coast of Denmark. The wind power plant is situated 7 km south of the resund Bridge, which connects Copenhagen and Malm. (Joakim Jeppsson, Poul Erik Larsen, ke Larrson, September 2008 )

Figure 1. Lillgrund Offshore Wind Farm Location

History
The conditions were quite favorable to establish an offshore wind farm at Lillgrund. The southern shallow part of resund is blessed with good wind speeds which results high energy production. The closeness to the shore made the access for construction, operation and maintenance really easy. Water depth is only 4 to 12 meters so cost of foundation was controlled. (Flodrus, Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm, May 2008)The transportation of materials including turbines was easily facilitated and shipped directly to the site. Weather plays a vital role for developing an offshore wind farm. Proper monitoring and daily log weather log was kept to make it possible to identify the weather conditions at any given time.

Chapter 2 Wind Farm Components

Foundations
There are 49 foundations at Lillgrund wind farm. The foundations of 48 turbines and one offshore substation are made up of gravity reinforced concrete. The Pihl-Hochtief consortium rented a part of the harbor in Swinoujscie, Poland, to manufacture the foundations. A ready- mix concrete plant was installed very close to the quay to facilitate concrete production, pouring and transport. (Flodrus, Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm, May 2008) The dredging work at seabed was done to achieve the sufficient bearing capacity of seabed. The excavated area was filled with a 50 cm thick cushion layer of crushed stones, to form a horizontal base for the foundation. (Flodrus, Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm, May 2008) The diver inspection continued during foundation

placement to ensure high quality of work. Four foundations were cast on each individual barge. As the bolt tolerances were very tight, the bolts were placed in fixing plates before the concrete was poured into the shutter boarding. The total weight of a foundation is 2000 MT including 500 MT of ballast material on the base plate. (Flodrus, Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm, May 2008) After completion of required work on barge, a tug pulled the barge from Poland to Lillgrund.

Figure 2. A tug takes the barge with four foundations from Poland to Lillgrund

A crane barge was used to lift the foundations from barge and place them on the specific location. The exact position of each foundation was mapped precisely with the aid of a fouranchor system and a global positioning system (GPS) and the crane barge was pulled to each new location with the aid of a tug and anchors. The whole area of the seabed around the foundation was covered with a rock-fill scour protection to prevent the ocean currents from moving seabed material and thus undermining the stability of the foundation.

Turbines
The Siemens 2.3 MW Mk II variable speed wind turbines are used. The turbines were manufactured by Siemens. The rotor and nacelle were made in Jutland, Denmark. The subcontractors located in Jutland, Denmark made the towers. All the equipment was transported by lorries to the harbor of Nyborg, Denmark. The towers (upper and lower sections), the nacelles and the rotors were loaded onto a special ship by a large crane. The total average time for installing the load of three wind turbines took five days: One day for the journey from Nyborg to Lillgrund, two days to erect three wind turbines, one day for the return journey to Nyborg and finally one day to load three more wind turbines. As long as weather permitted, these activities were carried out 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (Flodrus, Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm, May 2008) Rotor type Rotor position Rotor diameter Swept area Rotor speed Aerodynamic regulation Yaw system Controller type SCADA system Tower Rotor weight 3-bladed, horizontal axis Upwind 93 m 6800 m2 6 to 16 rpm Pitch regulation Active Microprocessor WPS Cylindrical 60 ton

Nacelle weight Tower weight (70 m)

82 ton 134 ton

Table 1. Specifications of Wind Turbines

Wind turbines were installed by the Sea Power with the help of large a crane. The operation took place 15 meters away from the foundations; the vessel raised itself by two meters by means of four jack-up legs to stabilize the hull for waves. The elevated deck provided stable platform for work The Sea Power is capable of operating in marine conditions with wave heights of up to one meter. Installation of towers and nacelles can be carried out in a wind speed of up to 10 m/s whilst installation of rotors is limited to a wind speed of maximum 7 m/s. (Flodrus, Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm, May 2008) Name Owner and Operator Vessel type Construction Company Overall Length Breath Maximum Draft Maximum Lifting Capacity Eide Barge 5 Eide Marine Services A/S Heavy Lift Barge Germany 76 m 37 m 3.615 m 1850 MT

Table 2. Characteristics of vessel used for foundation and turbine installation (Eide Barge 5)

Figure 3. Eide Barge 5

Figure 4. The Sea Power Vessel

Cables The Lillgrund offshore wind farm electrical network consists of a series of inter-array cables and an export cable. Voltage levels are 36 kV for inter-array cables and 145 kV for the export cable. The inter-array cables connect the wind power generators with the transformer platform (offshore substation). The inter-array cables are supplied in three different cross sectional sizes 95 mm2, 185 mm2 and 240 mm2. (Unosson, January 2009) The thickness of cable increases with as it goes close to substation. There are 48 inter array cables in total. The length of the cables varies, with 15 of the cables each approximately 350 meters, 28 of the cables approximately 450 meters and 5 cables up to 1500 meters. (Unosson, January 2009) The export cable connects the transformer platform with the substation in Bunkeflo. The export cable is divided into a 7 km submarine cable with a size of 400 mm2 and a 1.7 km land cable with a size of 630 mm2. The submarine cables include an integrated optic cable. The onshore cable includes a total of 4 separate cables, three AXLJ 1x 630 mm2 as well as an optic cable. (Unosson, January 2009)

Figure 5. Lillgrund Wind Farm Cable Layout

The inter array cable installation was performed with the help of two vessels, C/S Pleijel and M/S Peter Madsen, and their workboats. C/S Pleijel was responsible for laying down the interarray cable between the foundations and M/S Peter Madsen was used as the base for the divers during the cable pull-in and the post-lay inspection. M/S Peter Madsen also transported ABB team, tools and material between the foundations. (Unosson, January 2009) The offshore part of the export cable installation consisted of trenching, laying, pull-in and burying. The last 300 meters of the export cable, which was to connect to the transformer platform, was installed on the seabed temporarily until the transformer platform had been positioned. The offshore export cable installation was carried out using the barge Nautilus Maxi. First, the cable was pulled to shore from the barge. Then, all but the last 300 meters of the cable was laid into the trench. The remaining was to be connected to the transformer platform. (Unosson, January 2009) Name Owner and Operator Vessel type Construction Company Overall Length Breath Accommodation 1st and 2nd crane capacity Carousel and Turntable Capacity C/S Pleijel Baltic offshore Cable laying ship Denmark 72.4 m 13 m 20 Persons 7 tons and 3 tons 900 tons 400 tons and 150 tons Nautilus Maxi Sely under water services AS Multipurpose/ cable lay barge Norway 47 m 20 m

Table 3.Characteristics of vessels used for cable installation (CS Pleijel) (Nautilus Maxi)

Substations
The offshore substation at Lillgrund is designed to visually harmonize with the marine environment. The cylindrical substation has a diameter of 22 meters and reaches approximately 25 meters above sea level. The steel framework of the transformer platform was made in Poland. It was transported to rhus, Denmark, where all electrical equipment was installed, along with the internal and external walls. The completed transformer station was transported on a barge to the Copenhagen harbor, where a marine crane lifted it directly to its planned location at Lillgrund. (Flodrus, Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm, May 2008) The substation consists of the following electrical systems (Joakim Jeppsson, Poul Erik Larsen, ke Larrson, September 2008 ) 138/33 kV main transformer, 120 MVA, with tap changer 33 kV switchgear for each feeder and the local power supply 33 kV/0.4 kV transformer for local power supply, 150 kVA 0.4 kV switchgear system for local power supply Emergency diesel for back-up, 110 kVA Control/monitoring system Mechanical vibration protective device (which trips all electrical equipment in case of a ship collision) Lillgrund offshore wind power plant is connected to E.ONs 130 kV onshore station Bunkeflo, near Malm. The main circuit breaker is located here.

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Chapter 3 Calculations
WindPRO is employed to make calculations about environment and visual effects, electrical losses and annual energy production of the Lillgrund wind farm. Environmental Report Environmental monitoring measures performed for the Lillgrund offshore wind farm will be described in the section and the results will be summarized. Noise According to environmental court, the equivalent noise level in the areas closest to the beach shall not exceed 35 db. (Davy, 2009) However, the equivalent noise level measured varied between 31-46 dB at wind speeds between 2-8 m/s when the initial noise measurement were performed. The project was still approved by the authorities. (Davy, 2009) Following are the measurements performed by WindPRO, different noise levels of Siemens 2.3 MW Mk II were investigated. Eight noise sensitive areas are designated all along the beach.

No.

Noise Sensitive Areas

Noise Limit Level 0 44.8 43.6 42.1 40 39.1 40.7 37.6 41.2 Level 1 44 42.9 41.5 39.5 38.6 40.1 37.1 40.6

WindPRO Results Level 2 42.8 41.6 40.2 38.1 37.2 38.8 35.7 39.3 Level 3 41.8 40.6 39.3 37.3 36.4 38 35 38.4 Level 4 40.9 39.8 38.5 36.6 35.7 37.2 34.3 37.7 Level 5 40.1 39 37.7 35.9 35 36.5 33.7 36.9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A B C D E F G H

35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35

Table 4. Noise Calculations of Lillgrund Wind Farm

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Shadow Shadow is not generally the point of concern for offshore wind farm developers because these are situated quite away from the beaches or residential areas. However, shadow calculations are made by using WindPRO. Nine different shadow receptors are placed along the beach to measure the effect of wind turbines. Following are the results:

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Visual Impact

Receptors A B C D E F G H I hr/year 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Shadow days/year 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

hr/day 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Table 5. Shadow Calculations of Lillgrund Wind Farm

The visualization of the impact of a wind farm on surrounding landscape is an important task during permitting process. WindPRO is employed to fulfill this task. A view point Klagshamn harbour, 5.3 km is selected and results are calculated using Photomontage module of WindPRO.

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Figure 6. View from Klagshamn harbour 5.3 km

Figure 7. View from Klagshamn harbour 5.3 km using WindPRO

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Annual Energy Production Result Park MWh/y 229511 235691.7 429089.6 416931.5 284751.1 288689.7 495307.5 482424.6 270537 480753.6 Park Efficiency % 69 70.4 78.1 78.2 85.6 86.2 90.3 90.4 81.3 87.5 Mean Wind Speed m/s 6.8 6.8 9.2 9.1 6.8 6.8 9.1 9.1 6.8 9.3

Wake Model N.O.Jensen (Riso/EMD) N.O.Jensen (Riso/EMD) N.O.Jensen (Riso/EMD) N.O.Jensen (Riso/EMD) Eddy Viscosity Model Eddy Viscosity Model Eddy Viscosity Model Eddy Viscosity Model EWTS II(G.C.Larsen) EWTS II(G.C.Larsen)

Wind Distribution Weibull_NCAR_BASIC _N55.0_E12.5_42 m Measure_NCAR_BASIC _N55.0_E12.5_42 m WAsP Interface ATLAS Weibull_NCAR_BASIC _N55.0_E12.5_42 m Measure_NCAR_BASIC _N55.0_E12.5_42 m WAsP Interface ATLAS Weibull_NCAR_BASIC _N55.0_E12.5_42 m WAsP Interface

Result -10% 206560 212123 386181 375238 256276 259821 445777 434182 243483 432678

Capacity % 21.3 21.9 39.9 38.3 26.5 26.8 46.1 44.9 25.2 44.7

Table 6. Annual energy production results comparing different wake models and wind distributions

Initially the measurements taken on a tower located at Lillgrund in resund, about 10 km west of the Swedish coastline, have been analyzed from 1st September 2003 to 28th February 2006. The observed mean wind speed was found to be 8.4 m/s at 65 m height. (Bergstrm, March 2009) The actual production figures from 2008 to 2011 are taken from http://www.vindstat.nu data base and compared with WindPRO results. Different wind distributions were used in WindPRO including met mast data (Falsterborev) and NCAR data as shown above. The actual production results are shown below.

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Year 2008 2009 2010 2011

Table 7. Actual production of Lillgrund wind farm

Av. Production GWh 326.78312 319.97166 303.90538 347.88777

As it can be seen that the results obtained from NCAR data are much closer to the actual production figures in Table.7. The eddy viscosity wake model gives better solution than other models. The height of NCAR data is 42 m, and wind speed obtained from NCAR data at 42 m is 6.5 m/s. As described above, the observed wind speed near the site is 8.4 m/s. If we extrapolate the production, obtained from WindPRO, at 6.8 m/s to 8.4 m/s, the figure come close to the actual production. So it can be concluded that eddy viscosity model using NCAR data gives reliable results in this case. Electrical Losses Reassessment of electrical losses is done using egrid module of WindPRO.

Table 8. Electrical losses of Lillgrund wind farm

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These results are calculated using annual energy production of 259821 MWh/year. The losses are calculated using ambient temperature 20oC. The climate under sea is taken as moderate.

Conclusion
The reassessment of lillgrund wind farm is done using software WindPRO. The results are obtained using different modules of WindPRO. The results are quite similar to the ones calculated at the start of the project. While calculating annual energy production, the met mast located at Falsterborev gave abnormal results possibly due to errors in the data base and also it is short term data. The NCAR data is more reliable because it is long term. Rest of the modules calculated accurate results.

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VITA

Name: Address:

Haseeb Ahmad Gotland University Cramrgatan 3, 621 67 Visby, Sweden

Email Address: Education:

haseeba@mail.hgo.se Bachelors in Chemical Engineering. The University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Pakistan, 2003 Certified Professional Manager in Health, Safety and Environment, Pakistan Institute of Modern Studies, 2011 Masters in Wind Power Project Management, Gotland University Sweden, 2012

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Bibliography
Bergstrm, H. (March 2009). Meteorological Conditions at Lillgrund. Sweden: The Swedish Energy Agency. CS Pleijel. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2012, from http://www.4coffshore.com/windfarms/vessel-cs-pleijel-vid5.html Davy, T. (2009). Environmental Monitoring- Lillgrund Offshore Wind Farm. Sweden: The Swedish Energy Agency. Eide Barge 5. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2012, from 4coffhore: http://www.4coffshore.com/windfarms/vessel-eide-barge-5-vid55.html Flodrus, A. (May 2008). Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm. Sweden: The Swedish Energy Agency. Flodrus, A. (May 2008). Experiences from the Construction and Installation of Lillgrund Wind Farm. Sweden: The Swedish Energy Agency. Joakim Jeppsson, Poul Erik Larsen, ke Larrson. (September 2008 ). Technical Description Lillgrund Wind Power Plant. Sweden: The Swedish Energy Agency . Nautilus Maxi. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2012, from http://www.4coffshore.com/windfarms/vessel-nautilus-maxi-vid28.html Unosson, O. (January 2009). Offshore Cable Installation - Lillgrund. Sweden: The Swedish Energy Agency.