A New European Project to Study the Atmospheric Flow Integrating Real Climate Conditions
As evidenced in the previous post “The Winds of Change,” wind energy stands as a fundamental pillar in achieving the European Green Deal objectives set for the coming years. To accomplish this, the wind energy sector must move towards optimizing its processes and increasing productivity while simultaneously reducing economic and environmental costs associated with its operations. In line with this approach, the European project AIRE has taken on the challenge of improving existing and future wind farms.
Challenges in the Wind Energy Sector
The wind energy sector faces numerous challenges as diverse as the climate it operates within. Central to these challenges is the need for a comprehensive understanding of the atmospheric flow, crucial for optimizing wind energy extraction. This understanding must encompass not only wind patterns but also account for other climatic effects such as precipitation, the presence of sand and cloud formation. These factors are especially critical in areas with complex terrain and at high altitudes.
Furthermore, the diversity of global climates necessitates that wind turbine manufacturers customize their products to a variety of climatic conditions beyond those typically found in northern Europe, which rely on constant, strong winds. Such adaptations are crucial to protect and optimize the turbines performance, thereby extending their lifespan and improving their efficiency in varying environmental conditions.
Additionally, there is a growing demand for detailed operational data from wind farms experiencing non-standard climatic conditions. This surge in data is propelled by the requirement to refine and develop models and tools that can pre-emptively address and mitigate operational challenges and economic risks. These risks include blade erosion caused by precipitation or changes in wind flow.
Efforts to expand our knowledge of potential new sites for wind farms are intensifying. This expansion is pivotal for increasing the durability of turbine components and reducing operating and maintenance costs for park owners.
This comprehensive approach not only aims to increase the efficiency and profitability of wind farms but also to strengthen their contribution to the transition towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future.
AIRE’s objectives
The primary goal of AIRE is to enhance wind energy efficiency and component durability by deepening our understanding of atmospheric conditions affecting wind turbines. This encompasses low, medium, and high altitudes, both onshore and offshore. AIRE achieves this through comprehensive analysis of atmospheric flows from mesoscale to detailed wind turbine, farm, and blade dynamics. By integrating real-world climate variables like wind, precipitation, sand, and clouds into predictive models, AIRE aims to reduce economic uncertainties and the Levelized Cost of Energy in wind farm operations, making wind power more competitive and affordable.
Specific objectives:
- Atmospheric Research and Data collection: AIRE is building a comprehensive atmospheric database, systematically gathering information across diverse climates and landscapes. The goal is to capture a wide array of data including wind speeds, precipitation, sand presence, and cloud formations. Such detailed information is crucial for creating accurate models on how weather impacts turbine performance, especially in challenging locations like mountaintops or offshore sites where atmospheric conditions can be particularly complex and variable.
- Development of advanced modelling tools: The project is creating sophisticated software that can predict and simulate how atmospheric conditions interact with wind turbines. These tools use a multi-fidelity approach, which means they can seamlessly switch between broad, regional weather simulations and highly detailed models of air movement around turbine blades. By combining these large-scale (mesoscale) and small-scale (microscale) perspectives, AIRE‘s models can more accurately predict wind farm output under a wide range of conditions, such as variable wind shear and turbulent intensities.
- Toolbox creation for industry application: AIRE is packaging its advanced models into a user-friendly toolbox for direct industry use. The toolbox aims to offer solutions for optimizing wind farm locations, enhancing turbine design, predicting energy production, and mitigating climate-related impacts. It is intended to be a comprehensive resource for developers, manufacturers, and operators in the wind energy sector.
- Validation and optimization of developed models and tools: To ensure real-world effectiveness, AIRE rigorously tests its models and tools against data from operational wind farms. This validation process confirms that the tools perform accurately under various environmental conditions and helps identify areas for further refinement. It’s an ongoing process of improvement, ensuring that AIRE‘s resources remain cutting-edge and reliable.
- Wind turbine components improvement: AIRE doesn’t stop at software, it’s also focused on hardware. Using insights from its validated models, the project is working on designing better wind turbine components, with a particular emphasis on blades. By incorporating advanced materials and innovative design techniques, AIRE aims to create turbines that are more efficient and durable, capable of withstanding the diverse and challenging climatic conditions.
Thanks to AIRE, previously unknown factors, which posed a risk for project developers when designing wind farms and, consequently, for investors, will no longer be a concern. This will foster the potential investment and capacity of wind energy.
In summary, AIRE not only aims to increase the efficiency and profitability of wind farms but also strengthens their contribution to global sustainability goals. The initiative promises to optimize operational performance across Europe’s wind farms and to establish a foundation for predictive technologies that will drive future advancements in the sector. By harnessing the power of advanced numerical models and collaborative knowledge sharing, AIRE propels wind energy toward a cleaner and brighter tomorrow.
Author: Oria Pardo
Editor: Lucia Salinas
July, 2024