The wind industry needs to work together more closely to ensure turbine deployments are future-proofed against extreme weather events such as cyclones and earthquakes, claims global advisory group DNV GL.
Moving into new offshore markets in Asia and the US means turbine structures will be exposed to new, more challenging conditions, but the industry currently has no standard guideline aligning design methodologies, said the Denmark-based group.
“The lack of an aligned guideline often leads to increased work volume between wind farm developer, turbine manufacturer, designer and certification body, causing delays and increasing costs of projects,” said DNV GL, which wants industry players to join the ACE (Alleviating Cyclone and Earthquake Challenges for Wind farms) Joint Industry Project.
The initiative will “help to minimise cost, warranty and liability risks and optimise wind turbine design for seismic and typhoon conditions”, it claimed.
Individual turbine groups such as MHI Vestas and Siemens Gamesa have adapted their turbines for extreme conditions such as typhoons as they attempt to crack new markets such as Taiwan.
The US territory of Puerto Rico, whose power infrastructure was heavily damaged by hurricane in 2017, has announced plans to rebuild its infrastructure around renewables as it pursues a 100% clean power goal for 2050.