Siting in complex terrain is still a challenge for wind energy developers. This session will shed light on questions including:

What is the best way to estimate the energy resource over hilly and forested terrains? Are linearized models still useful and are computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models mature enough? What is the best way to use meso-scale models for wind energy resource estimation offshore? How does atmospheric stability affect turbulence?

Learning objectives:

• Judge the performance of linearized flow models in comparison with CFD model for wind resource estimation in complex terrain
• Understand how meso-scale models are best used for offshore annual energy production (AEP) estimation
• Appreciate how atmospheric stability affects turbulence over forests and how to use standard measurements to estimate the stability
• Get an insight into state-of-the-art meso-scale modelling for wind energy resource estimation

Wind turbines operate under highly fluctuating wind conditions. It is thus important to achieve a profound understanding of the characteristic features of the micro scale meteorological conditions. Current research activities focus not only on the inflow conditions and their impact on wind turbines, but also on the wake structures and the wind conditions within a wind farm.

Learning objectives

• Get a better understanding micro scale wind conditions
• Learn about new advanced measuring techniques
• See the possibilities of numerical methods to simulate complex wind conditions
• Learn about the impact of wind on turbine components

The session is oriented to show recent computational and experimental findings on aerodynamic phenomena in horizontal (HAWT) and vertical access wind turbines (VAWT), as well as on new developments on system identification techniques related to the aeroelastic behaviour of wind turbine rotors and new aerodynamic design trends for very large wind turbines.

Learning objectives:

Delegates will learn about:

• recent computational and experimental findings on aerodynamic phenomena in HAWT and VAWT
• new developments on system identification techniques related to the aeroelastic behaviour of wind turbine rotors
• innovative design trends for the aerodynamics of very large wind turbines

The application of advanced control can be utilised to improve turbine performance. The topics addressed in this session include wind turbine/farm control to provide frequency support including droop control, the collective control of a number of wind turbines through the use of a common bus bar and converter, and the stabilisation of floating wind turbines. The control design techniques used include model-predictive, nonlinear and robust control design.

This session considers the broad topic of fixed offshore foundation systems and includes papers addressing the primary elements of global or whole-structural-system analysis and assessment. A range of speakers will represent academia and industry with contributions covering different aspects of bottom-fixed support structures and foundations, their design, analysis and optimisation. Topics addressed will include hydrodynamic loads, soil-structure interaction and geotechnical issues, support structure dynamics and simulation technology, field testing and laboratory experiments as well as pile design.

Learning objectives

• Better understand soil-structure interaction mechanisms and analyse methods
• Appreciate how to analyse and assess structural dynamic behaviour
• Examine fatigue damage models applied to offshore wind foundations
• Recognise performance indicators for the whole-structure
• Identify methods to objectively assess optimum foundation configuration

The session covers design problems related to floating wind turbines and how current research is overcoming these hurdles through innovative platform concepts, experimental methods and mooring system analysis. In particular, technical and economic studies and analyses for three different novel concepts will be presented, including one vertical axis concept, a concrete platform design and a combined wind & wave energy device. In addition, a new methodology for experimental model testing with a focus on aerodynamics and control will be presented, as well as a detailed assessment on long-term mooring system loads.

Learning objectives

• Learn about a novel experimental methodology for floating wind turbine aerodynamic and controller testing
• Identify challenges and benefits of an innovative vertical axis concept
• Understand the design and potential benefits and challenges of a concrete platform
• Assess structural fatigue damage of a multi-modal wind/wave energy device
• Learn about a new methodology capable of reproducing life cycle mooring loads

The grid integration of wind power has always been a challenge. In this session a range of speakers from academia and industry will address the impact of wind on network operation and the development of a large scale offshore HVDC grid, offshore systems, the state-of-the-art in HVDC technologies, as well as more specific topics including the design of offshore networks from a reliability perspective and the transient response of HVDC links.

Learning objectives

• Understand the effect of wind power on grid operation and development via case studies
• Get an overview of the state of the art in HVDC offshore grid research
• Get acquainted with specific topics of offshore grids, including reliability and transient response aspects

New developments in wind turbines need innovation and advances in technology in the field of wind turbine drive trains. This session focuses on topics related to transmissions and generators

The session covers the entire area of wind farm and wind turbine operation and maintenance, e.g. how to access, repair and organise operation and maintenance logistics onshore and offshore. In order to keep in hand the current health of turbines and farms, failure detection, identification and prognosis methods are also presented. Maintenance operations are also addressed from the viewpoints of required activities and efficiency. In order to cover management aspects, operation and lifetime cost calculation methodologies are also introduced. Experts from various European countries share their results during the session.

Learning objectives

• Advanced operation and maintenance
• Fault detection methods
• Reliability calculation techniques
• Monitoring on the field
• Statistical and artificial intelligence-based solutions for diagnostics data- and model-based solutions for fault detection