DeepWindDemo

Design, build and testing of a novel Deep- sea Wind energy DEMOnstrator

Funding Body:

Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: National Energy Research Development and Demonstration (RD&D) Funding Programme 2021

Coordinator:

Marine Materials Ireland

Project Partners:

ÉireComposites Teo, NUI Galway

Principal Investigators:

Prof Jamie Goggins & Dr William Finnegan

Start Date:

1-2-2021

End Date:

31-1-2023

Introduction:

As the world moves towards a  more sustainable way of life,  Ireland must invest significantly in creating a carbon-free energy system. The Irish Government has set out a target of achieving 5 GW capacity in offshore wind by 2030 with the ambition of taking advantage of a potential of at least 30GW of offshore floating wind power in our deeper waters of the  Atlantic.  The DeepWindDemo proposes a disruptive and innovative solution for the Irish floating wind industry, by bringing to the floating wind sector a novel dual helical turbine on a single platform, which not only maximises the use of materials but also has performance benefits with the bypass velocity of one turbine used to increase the intake velocity of the other. In order to achieve this, the project will design, manufacture and experimentally test (both structurally and in real operational conditions) their novel floating dual turbine technology. This innovative research and development programme will demonstrate the performance of the technology while de-risking the technology through the characterisation of blade structural integrity,   turbine power production and stability.   The DeepWindDemo project brings together a  complementary consortium of a  developer  (Marine  Materials Ireland), a wind blade manufacturer (ÉireComposites) and a blade testing facility (NUI Galway), During the DeepWindDemo project, the novel solution will be promoted to other Irish and international wind energy operators and scientific audiences. Additionally, the project findings will be disseminated to key project stakeholders in order to maximise the impact of the technology developed

Aim:

The main aim of the DeepWindDemo project is to develop innovative solutions for the Irish floating wind industry by utilising optimised dual vertical axis wind turbines on a single semisubmersible floating platform.

Work packages:

1. Project Management
2. Design of next-generation DeepWindDemo
3. Manufacture of next-generation DeepWindDemo
4. Structural testing of a helical blade
5. Operational trials of DeepWindDemo
6. Dissemination and communication