Evaluating the feasibility of shared mooring systems on a combined solar and wind farm array

Master thesis (2023)

Authors

C. Schreuder Mechanical Engineering

Contributors

Oriol Colomés Offshore Engineering - CEG (mentor)
A. Haenen (mentor)
R van Driel (graduation committee member)
A. Grammatikopoulos Ship and Offshore Structures - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (mentor)
Faculty
Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Copyright: © 2023 Camiel Schreuder
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Published Date

08-09-2023

Language

English

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Faculty

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

The demand for clean energy has led to potential cost-effective solutions for the offshore industry. One of these solutions is shared mooring systems, where floating offshore structures for renewable energy are coupled to each other. While this approach saves mooring lines and anchors, it introduces new dynamic loading compared to conventional mooring systems. This study focuses on the feasibility of using a shared mooring system to combine floating offshore wind and floating solar support structures in different configurations in a farm layout.

This research uses the Volturn US-S platform to model the floating wind turbines and recreates the Tractebel Seavolt concept for the modelling of the floating solar arrays. Six configurations are simulated, undergoing irregular waves under various wave headings, load cases, and line materials. The configurations involve two wind turbines with one or more solar arrays in between them. A Quasi-dynamic model is used to identify critical cases. These cases are re-evaluated using OrcaFlex. The assessment of these configurations is done based on two Key Performance Indicators, related to line tensions and the floating support structures' displacements. During the process, polyester lines are chosen due to their favourable characteristics.

The four configurations that met the Key Performance Indicators are compared to a base case of a single turbine regarding its displacements and anchored line tensions. Effective utilisation of the shared lines and limited displacements lead to a preference for the configuration with three solar arrays. Additionally, the anchored line tensions of the turbine in this configuration increase the least compared to other configurations.

In summary, using a shared mooring system to combine both floating offshore wind structures and floating solar structures in a farm layout is feasible. Further research should be done on other configurations and the impact of these mooring systems on the Levelized Cost Of Energy. Additionally, wind and current loading should be incorporated in future studies.