How can the introduction of wind farms at sea be accelerated?
The Netherlands aims to generate between 15 and 20% of its electricity by means of wind power in 2020: 1500 MW on land and 6000 MW at sea. Wind farms at sea will account for most of the Dutch goals. The wind turbines at sea, however, will need to collaborate in an integrated system, comparable to an energy plant. The maintenance of wind turbines at sea is a dangerous job and therefore very expensive. And the enormous rotor blades of these turbines require new materials to be able to withstand the enormous wind loads.
The TU Delft contribution
Wind turbine design and materials
Wind turbines – certainly those in wind parks at sea – are huge. The biggest rotor blades measure a staggering 61.5 metres in length. Researchers from TU Delft are designing new wind turbines – for example by modelling their aerodynamic properties – and are considering which materials are most appropriate for their construction. The large turbine blades must be able to resist powerful wind forces.
For further details, click on:
- Read an overview of wind energy research in the Netherlands
- Watch a web lecture by prof. Gerard van Bussel on the aerodynamics of wind turbines
- Delft University Wind Energy Research Institute, DUWIND
- Delft Centre for Materials
- Listen to a podcast recorded in the Open Jet Facility, a wind tunnel used for testing rotor blades.
Offshore technology and Ampelmann
Ampelmann is a platform that remains stable at sea, thanks to the hydraulic stilts on which it rests that absorb the buffeting of the waves. This system allows maintenance mechanics to land safely on the base of the wind turbine to do their work. Ampelmann was developed at TU Delft, and a commercial company has been set up to continue the work on this project.
For further details, click on:
- Ampelmann (dossier, company and video)
- Offshore Engineering
- Press release about a joint project TU Delft and electricity company RWE
Feeding wind energy into the electricity grid
Wind energy is a discontinuous resource. Wind force 6 generates the most electricity. PhD studies have shown that Dutch electricity companies will be able to handle the variations in the demand for power and the supply of wind power, even under the conditions likely to prevail in the future, if they are able to use up-to-date wind forecasts. There will be no need for extra storage facilities until 2020, when wind energy may be expected to be used on a large scale.
For further details, click on:
LadderMills
LadderMills, developed by Professor Wubbo Ockels – perhaps most famous for being the first Dutch astronaut in space - are rotating loops of kites which catch the wind at a height of 10 kilometres. The wind is twenty times more powerful at this height than at ground level. The LadderMills are attached to a generator on the ground by means of a cable.
For further details, click on:
EWICON
The EWICON is a wind turbine with no mechanical parts. Electricity is generated by loaded droplets which move in the wind. This gives rise to an electrical current, which can be fed into the electricity grid.
For further details, click on:
More information and links
More information about wind energy:
- Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland (ECN)
- NODE, Dutch research platform sustainable energy supply
- NWEA, Dutch Wind Energy Association
- EWEA, European Wind Energy Association
- For more information about research into renewable energy sources at TU Delft, get in touch with the Delft Energy Initiative
