THE world’s largest open access offshore wind turbine drive train test rig is on the drawing board at the UK’s Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). Two companies – Converteam and HORIBA Instruments – have been commissioned to deliver competing designs for an indoor test rig capable of dynamically testing a complete wind turbine drive train and nacelle with input power up to 15MW (megawatts).
The two competing designs will be presented to the ETI at the end of May and it is anticipated that one preferred contractor will then be selected to procure, build and commission the test rig, which should be operational by the end of 2011.
The test facility is being designed to demonstrate the reliability and performance of new technologies early on in the development process and reduce the risk involved in developing large multi-megawatt wind turbines ahead of major deployments offshore. It will support both design and manufacturing of the next generation very high-power, large wind turbines capable of generating lower-cost electricity from the turbine arrays outlined in the Crown Estate’s Round 3 Offshore Programme.
The test rig is being designed to allow the whole turbine nacelle to be tested onshore and indoors before being taken offshore, thus reducing the technical and commercial risks of mass production and deployment.
As well as providing a lower-cost alternative to deploying and testing turbines offshore, it is expected to help accelerate the development of new prototypes for low-cost, more reliable machines, increasing the speed of deployment of new turbines and arrays.
ETI CEO David Clarke said: “We are designing this to be a world-class facility for the offshore wind industry and to support the UK Government’s target of establishing 33GW (gigawatts) of offshore wind generating capacity by 2020. Developing this test rig requires radical engineering design. With the teams from Converteam and Horiba, we have two of the world’s leading engineering teams competing to create a commercially viable system for the UK. When complete, this world-leading facility will allow turbine manufacturers and engineering teams to test the reliability of their equipment under realistic load conditions without the expense and risk of deploying them offshore.
“It will also offer opportunities to component suppliers and research teams, who will be able to test new technologies and designs more comprehensively, and to offshore developers, who will be able to validate the performance of equipment before putting it into service.
“It is likely to be a key component in helping to attract investment into the UK from companies looking to get involved in the offshore wind sector.”
The intention is to build the test rig at the Narec facility at Blyth, Northumberland. That would co-locate it with Narec’s expanding facilities for testing wind turbine blades and marine energy systems.
The test-rig design specification is a result of nearly two years of engineering development and industry consultation by Narec and ETI.
Regional Development Agency One North East is investing just less than £10million in developing the building and infrastructure to support the new test rig as part of its long-term strategy that has positioned the English north-east as a serious competitor in the race for offshore wind-related business.
In December, the London Government announced a contribution of £11.5million towards a blade-test facility at Narec which will provide a capability to test blades up to 100m in length.
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