Abstract
An offshore wind farm is a power plant that consists of a number of turbines connected with an internal grid for power transfer, one or more substations, and an export cable to transmit the power to the local grid. The principal components include turbines, towers, foundations, electric collection and transmission systems, and other balance of plant items. In this chapter we describe the components of offshore wind systems and their primary functions.
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- 1.
In soft soil regions, deeper piles and thicker steel are required.
- 2.
Monopiles, jackets, and tripods are attached to the subsurface using piles. However, designs could be modified to use suction caissons in which a cylindrical steel caisson (resembling an overturned bucket) is allowed to sink into the seabed under its own weight [1]. Suction is applied to the inside of the caisson and water is pumped out. The resulting pressure differential causes the caisson to be driven into the seabed.
- 3.
Manufacturers purchase steel as hot-rolled plates which are cold rolled and welded using standard machinery.
- 4.
The turbine transformer is either located up tower in the nacelle or at the base of the turbine (down tower). Turbine transformers take the energy generated by the turbine and convert it to approximately 34.5 kV for connection with the collection system.
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Kaiser, M.J., Snyder, B.F. (2012). Offshore Wind Energy System Components. In: Offshore Wind Energy Cost Modeling. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2488-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2488-7_2
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