Open AccessCost and losses associated with offshore wind farm collection networks which centralise the turbine power electronic converters
Author(s) -
Parker Max Alexander,
AnayaLara Olimpo
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
iet renewable power generation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 76
ISSN - 1752-1424
DOI - 10.1049/iet-rpg.2012.0262
Subject(s) - network topology , converters , offshore wind power , turbine , topology (electrical circuits) , wind power , star network , power (physics) , computer science , engineering , electronic engineering , electrical engineering , physics , voltage , computer network , aerospace engineering , ring network , quantum mechanics
Costs and losses have been calculated for several different network topologies, which centralise the turbine power electronic converters, in order to improve access for maintenance. These are divided into star topologies, where each turbine is connected individually to its own converter on a platform housing many converters, and cluster topologies, where multiple turbines are connected through a single large converter. Both AC and DC topologies were considered, along with standard string topologies for comparison. Star and cluster topologies were both found to have higher costs and losses than the string topology. In the case of the star topology, this is due to the longer cable length and higher component count. In the case of the cluster topology, this is due to the reduced energy capture from controlling turbine speeds in clusters rather than individually. DC topologies were generally found to have a lower cost and loss than AC, but the fact that the converters are not commercially available makes this advantage less certain.