Floating Windmill

by
Mohammad Moin
1RG07EE026
Final year EEE
 Content
 Introduction
 History
 Need for Floating Windmills
 Floating Concept
 Parts, installation & Function
 Hywind Floating turbine
 Hexicon Floating Platform
 Advantages & limitations
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
Introduction

 Winds are stronger & steadier over water

 Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) is a device that converts
wind energy into electrical energy
 Harnessing of wind achieved by onshore or offshore
Technologies
 An offshore wind turbine mounted on a floating structure
 Electricity generated is sent to shore through undersea
cables
Continued

Floating platform topologies

Single turbine floater Multiple turbine floater
History
 First practical windmill used for grinding grains &
pumping water
 Windmills used in late 19th century to generate
electricity
 Small wind turbines for lighting of isolated rural
buildings in 20th century
 Offshore wind farms are not new
 Windmills firmly fixed to ocean bed in offshore system
 Fixed bottom were limited only till depths of 30m
Need for Floating Windmill

 Wind is twice as strong as in land

 Used out at sea in deep waters
 Need not be anchored permanently to ocean bed
 Availability of land for installation of conventional
windmills
 Hybrid system of generation
 Maintenance becomes easier as it is not permanently
fixed
Parts of windmill
 Tower: It is of two types- the lattice type or the conical
tubular type. The height of the tower is optimized such that
it would enable the blades to capture maximum amount of
energy from the wind and hence generate more electricity.
 Nacelle:Holds the Gear- Box, the Generator, the Control
System, the Brake, the Yawing System, the Cooling
System, the Anemometer and the Wind Vane.
 Rotor:Includes the Blades and the Hub are together called
the rotor. The blades are aerodynamically designed to
capture the wind.
Installation
 Site selection
 Towing of foundation pipe to location
 Laying of the foundation system
 Erection of tower
 Assembling of nacelle
 Attachment of rotor
 Connection to power grid
Function of Windmill
Hywind Floating Turbine
 Worlds first large capacity
floating wind turbine
 Installed in North sea of
Norway
  The 2.3 MW turbine
mounted on a floating
tower with a 100 metre
deep draft. 
 delivered 7.3 GWh in
2010, and survived 11
meter waves with
seemingly no wear.
Features
 Wind turbine
 Capacity: SWT- 2.3 MW, built by Siemens
 Weight of turbine: 138 tonnes
 Turbine height: 65 metres
 Rotor diameter: 82.4 metres
 Total weight: 5300 tonnes.
 Diameter at sea surface: 6 metres.
 No. of  anchor moorings: 3
Hexicon Floating Platform
 Can accommodate 6-7
large turbines
 Generate up to 40 MW
 Can be built onshore &
then modulated on site
 Can operate up to
50years without much
need for maintenance
 Turbines can be easily
replaced
Advantages & Limitations
Advantages
 Eliminates visual pollution
 Efficient method to reduce
carbon emission
 Maintenance is easier &
efficient
 Sub sea cables are not so
expensive
 Hybrid systems possible
Limitations
 Onshore installations
are cheaper
 They can be damaged
by thunderstorms
 During harsh winter
conditions, farm system
becomes inaccessible
 Operation is difficult
Conclusion

 Hybrid offshore wind & wave farms

 Windmills can be moored up to depths of 1000m
 Can generate more power compared to conventional
windmills
 Highly efficient due to hybrid characteristics
 Leading to low cost offshore turbines
 Attractive economic attributes
 Optimal control to enhance wind & wave power output
Bibliography
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29016304/floating-windmill-
pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine
http://www.winwind.com/wind-energy-basics/
http://gisceu.net/PDF/U444.pdf
http://www.gizmag.com/hywind-floating-wind-
turbine/11961/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_wind_turbine
http://web.mit.edu/windenergy/windweek/Presentations/P6
%20-%20Sclavounos.pdf