Professional Documents
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OPERATIONAL ASPECTS
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The DTI drives our ambition of
‘prosperity for all’ by working to
create the best environment for
business success in the UK.
We help people and companies
become more productive by
promoting enterprise, innovation
and creativity.
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The work described in this report
was carried out under contract as
part of the DTI New and
Renewable Energy Programme,
which is managed by Future
Energy Solutions. The views and
judgements expressed in this
report are those of the contractor
and do not necessarily reflect
those of the DTI or Future Energy
Solutions.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The principle aim of this report is to review the actual wind turbine
performance against expectations. The wind turbine performance
was monitored against the predicted performance, including
power curve performance, wind regime and availability.
The wind farm off the coast of Blyth, Northumberland, is the first
offshore wind farm to be built in the United Kingdom. Two 2MW
wind turbines have been installed at a distance of approximately
1km from the coast, in a water depth, at low tide, of about 6m with
a tidal range of approximately 5m. The completed project is the
first in Europe to be exposed to the full force of the North Sea
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weather as well as a significant tidal range. The site is also subject
to breaking waves.
The site has the benefit of all the consents required for the
installation of the turbines. An Environmental Assessment was
produced and detailed site investigation studies were carried out
and evaluated in order to complete the detailed design of the
structure.
3) TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE
The turbines have suffered from poor availability for the first three
years. This has been due to several causes, but mainly due to
inadequate testing of the prototype to this design. A major design
review was carried out across this series of machines and a retrofit
programme carried out. The retrofit programme appears to have
resolved the availability issue.
The wind farm has also suffered a cable fault due to installation
deficiencies and a lightning strike which destroyed a blade.
4) CONCLUSIONS
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every single component has also been demonstrated clearly, as
there were no major design issues just lots of small ones.
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CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1
1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................ 1
1.2 AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF THIS REPORT ...................................... 2
2 TURBINES ................................................................................... 3
2.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................ 3
2.2 ADDITIONAL MEASURES FOR OPERATION IN MARINE
ENVIRONMENT.................................................................................... 3
2.3 MODIFICATIONS PERFORMED SINCE COMMISSIONING ............... 4
2.4 OPERATION ............................................................................ 5
CABLE FAULT ...................................................................................... 5
2.5 AVAILABILITY ......................................................................... 7
2.6 POWER CURVE........................................................................ 9
3 FOUNDATIONS ........................................................................ 11
3.1 STRUCTURAL STEELWORK .................................................... 11
3.2 ACCESS LADDERS AND PLATFORM .......................................... 11
3.3 S02 PRODUCTION INSIDE PILE ................................................ 11
3.4 MARINE GROWTH ................................................................ 11
4 ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT ........................................................ 12
4.1 SUB SEA CABLES .................................................................. 12
4.2 HV SWITCHGEAR .................................................................. 12
4.3 GRID CONNECTION ............................................................... 12
4.4 NAVIGATION AIDS ................................................................ 12
4.5 PPE .................................................................................... 12
5 HEALTH AND SAFETY ............................................................. 13
6 CONCLUSION ........................................................................... 14
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The wind farm off the coast of Blyth, Northumberland, is the first
offshore wind farm built in the United Kingdom. Two 2 MW wind
turbines have been installed at a distance of approximately 1km
from the coast, in a water depth, at low tide, of about 6m with a
tidal range of approximately 5m. The completed project is the first
in Europe to be exposed to the full force of the North Sea weather
as well as a significant tidal range. The site is subject to breaking
waves.
The site has the benefit of all the consents required for the
installation of the turbines. An Environmental Assessment was
produced and detailed site investigation studies were carried out
and evaluated in order to complete the detailed design of the
structure.
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1.2 Aims & Objectives of this Report
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TURBINES
1.3 Background
Both turbines are of the standard type nacelle and blades, which
means no changes to the normal six monthly maintenance and
operation of the turbines in general. The turbines have a tower of
hub height 67 metres and a rotor diameter of 66 metres.
The blades are made of glass fibre reinforced epoxy. All functions
of the wind turbine are monitored and controlled by
microprocessor-based control units. This control system is placed
in the nacelle.
There were also several holes in the wind turbine tower that were
used for cabling for the navigational aids and the bird camera.
The holes were packed using waterproof cable glands so as to not
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let any water in.
This proves the value of full testing and failure mode and effects
analysis for future offshore machines.
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The turbine availability only began to improve once all the
modifications had been carried out in late 2003.
1.6 Operation
In early 2001, there was a cable fault on the link between the two
turbines. This was the result of poor installation. The attachment
of the cable to the seabed was to be carried out by divers. The
installation of the cable was carried out in October and the
visibility became poor. The contractor thought enough had been
done to secure the cable for the winter and planned to finish the
work in the spring. Unfortunately this was not the case.
The cable protection where the cable left the J-tube came loose
and slipped down the cable. The current then caused the cable to
wear on the end of the J-tube and the cable was cut through.
There was sufficient spare cable in the link to allow the damaged
section to be pulled into the tower and cut off. However the spare
length was at the far end and had to be worked along to the
appropriate end. There were three attempts to do this, mainly
frustrated by combinations of weather and tides. In the end the
entire length of cable was suspended on floatation bags and
pulled along with a small tug. Again this was a diver operation and
required good visibility. The cable was out of service for
approximately three months.
The cable was then secured at intervals to the sea-bed and the
supports at the entrance to the J-tubes were supported by shaped
cement filled bags. A video of the cable route and securing
arrangements was made for reference.
Spare cable for a repair was available but was not needed in this
case.
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2.4.2 Lightning Strike
The blade was replaced a couple of months later using the new
A2Sea vessel. The manufacturer preferred to wait until this vessel
was available rather than attempt to remove the blade with a
winch (as had been indicated as possible in theory during contract
negotiations). The blade replacement was carried out very
smoothly and quickly when the A2Sea was alongside.
The first was caused by carbon dust from the brush unit entering
the stator, building up on the winding tails and causing a short
circuit. The generator was replaced with a one that had modified
end shields to remove this problem.
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The generator can easily be removed from the turbine using the
internal crane and lowered to a boat. There were however
problems landing the generator on a boat. The type of boat is
important it needs to large enough to be stable for swell and
currents from the front and the side. Several vessels were used
with varying success. One other generator was replaced as a
precaution.
The lesson learned from this was that the method of generator
extraction had been worked out but not the vessel to be used to
take the component away. Boats need to be identified in advance,
taking into account the likely conditions of wave and current at the
site.
1.7 Availability
The contracted availability was 95%. This included the caveat that
time waiting for weather to carry out repairs was not included in
the unavailable period.
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Table of Availability for Turbines
Turbine 1870
Year 2001
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th`15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st
January 1 1 1 1 1 1
February 1
March
April 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
May 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
June 1 1 1
July 1 1
August 1 1 1 1 1
September 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
October 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
November 1 1 1 1
December 1 1 1 1 1 1
Turbine 1870
Year 2002
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th`15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st
January 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
February 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
March 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
April 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
May 1 1 1 1
June 1
July
August 1
September 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
October 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
November
December 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Turbine 1870
Year 2003
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th`15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st
January 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
February 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
March 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
April 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
May 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
June 1 1 1 1
July 1 1 1 1 1
August 1 1 1
September 1 1
October 1 1
November
December 1 1 1 1
The availability has been poor for the first three years for the
reasons given. However form late 2003 the situation has
improved, with availability in excess of 95% being achieved. This
is due to the success of the retrofit programme.
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Power Curve
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th`15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st
January 1 1 1
February
March 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
April 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
May 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
June 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
July 1
August 1 1 1 1 1 1
September 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
October 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
November 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
December 1
Turbine 1871
Year 2002
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th`15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st
January 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
February 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
March 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
April 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
May 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
June 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
July 1
August 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
September 1 1 1 1
October 1 1
November 1
December
Turbine 1871
Year 2003
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th`15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st
January 1
February
March 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
April 1 1 1 1 1 1
May 1 1
June 1 1 1 1 1
July 1 1 1 1 1
August
September 1
October 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
November
December 1 1 1
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Measured Power Curve
Power Performance
2500
2000
1500
Power / kW
1870
1000 1871
Warranted
500
0
1
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
-500
Wind Speed / m/s
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2 FOUNDATIONS
2.1 Structural Steelwork
The fenders and platform have not sustained damaged due to the
access vessel. However the deck of the aluminium boat used for
access has been damaged by the fenders on occasion.
Water samples were taken at various depths inside the sealed pile.
These revealed microbes which were producing the gas. These
microbes not only produce SO2 but can also accelerate corrosion.
An environmentally acceptable and approved chemical additive
was added to this sealed water volume. It was added at several
levels and the water vigorously agitated using compressed air to
ensure good mixing to the appropriate concentration was
achieved. This cured the problem.
There has been regular build up of marine growth on the pile and
access ladders. This makes the ladders slippery and dangerous. A
program of regular cleaning in spring and autumn was instituted.
Ordinary pressure washers were tried but found to be too slow. A
more powerful washer has been used which can handle sea water.
This clears the ladders in about ten minutes.
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3 ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT
The fault on the cable was described above. This was due to
installation problems. During the video survey it was noticed that
the polypropylene outer layer was worn off as a result of current
action in a few places during the first winter. The wire armour was
not damaged and the cable was secured properly after that winter.
3.2 HV Switchgear
The only issue has been that condensation has been observed in
the cable termination boxes. The dehumidifier has cured this.
3.5 PPE
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4 HEALTH AND SAFETY
The near miss occurred when a dive support boat engine was
started and the propeller turned while a diving operation was
underway. The dive master called for the engine to be stopped
immediately. The divers were recovered and an investigation
carried out. Procedures were tightened and work restarted. The
boat in use was under sub contract and the liaison with sub-
contractors improved.
The access permit system has worked well. It has been reviewed
twice in the three years. After one year the access weather window
was opened out to allow access in waves on a peak to trough
height of 2m for trained personnel. The wind speed limit was also
raised to 20 m/s for winds from the West, as these do not cause
waves in this location. Other minor modifications have been made
to improve the ease of use of the system as a result of feedback
from those involved.
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5 CONCLUSION
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