Thermoelectric Modelling and Optimization of Offshore Windfarm Export Systems - State of the Art
Abstract
With recent developments and cost reduction, offshore windfarms are set to lead the energy markets of the west by 2030. This development can further be accelerated if the wind intensive periods can be utilized efficiently by optimizing the limited network capacity and if the energy output is increased during contingency outages. Therefore, dynamic rating operation of components that are primary system bottlenecks becomes crucial. This paper identifies potential bottlenecks in offshore windfarm export systems and provides an extensive state-of-the-art review of dynamic thermoelectric models which are applicable for real-time loadability assessment of the identified components. The loadability of these components is directly dependent on their thermal state, which is evaluated based on analytical solutions of the dynamic thermoelectric model, including the complicated heat transfer and temperature development phenomena in the identified components. Moreover, potential risks of using these models for offshore windfarm applications are also identified.