WESC 2019 technical program has been specifically designed with 8 diverse and cross-cutting themes in order to attract a broad range of scientist and engineers working in wind energy. 7 Themes will cover the main scientific topics in wind energy science and an 8th Theme which is left open for more cross cutting sessions. Each Theme will have its own dedicated lecture theatre for the duration of WESC 2019 and will host between 11 and 20 sessions. Abstracts and proposals for Mini-Symposia are currently being accepted in the following Themes:
Theme 1: Wind Resource, Turbulence and Wakes
Progress in understanding the wind resource, the effects of turbulence and wake interactions is a major opportunity for future system improvements. Theme 1 assembles all research that relates to improving our understanding of the wind resource, covering all relevant scales in time and space, as well as possible insights into related impacts on the wind energy system. Topics include:
- Microscale: Modelling and assessment of the wind resource, advances in turbulence and wake modelling, remote sensing, use of drones, emerging technologies and techniques, result of field test campaigns, uncertainly assessment and reduction.
- Mesoscale and forecasting: Numerical modelling, assessment of existing and emerging forecasting techniques
- Siting consideration: Noise, power curves, wakes, complex terrain, complex atmospheres.
Theme 2: Turbine Technology and Aerodynamics
This Theme brings together a number of fundamental aspects of wind energy, which span from basic science to cutting edge applied technology. This Theme is sure to be filled with new ideas and lively discussions on a broad range of highly interconnected themes. Participants from academia and industry will contribute to shaping future research directions and priorities in an area of crucial importance for wind energy. Topics include:
- Turbine and farm control
- Design and new configurations
- Aerodynamics, loads and aeroelasticity
- Drive train technology
Theme 3: Wind to Wire Power Systems
Wind energy’s ultimate aim is to produce electricity. The continuously increasing share of wind energy into the electricity generation mix calls for a renewed attention to the system integration of wind power. This process begins at component level, where generators and power electronics are crucial components, and goes all the way to operating international power systems with very high penetration of wind energy. This Theme aims at addressing the supporting research that is needed to meet these challenges.
- Generators: Generator configurations, HST superconducting generators
- Grid integration: EU power regulations, AC/DC hybrid systems, Medium voltage DC solutions, HVDC, hybrid systems, integration challenges, offshore solutions, energy storage, system balancing and other ancillary systems, grid operation
- Cables: Power cable design, reliability, cost reduction and offshore repair methods
Theme 4: Social, Economic and Policy
Many of the challenges facing the development of wind energy are not related to the technology itself but to the prevailing social, economic and political environment. This Theme will bring together leading research under these key topics:
- Social: Community ownership, the active energy citizen, social acceptance
- Economic: New business models, the wider economic impact of wind energy, Feed in tariff, CfDs and other support mechanisms, green backs, crowd funding ethical investment funds, public private partnerships
- Policy: Recent policy developments, spatial planning, planning processes, achieving EU targets
Theme 5: Turbine Lifecycle Considerations
New technical challenges in wind energy are not only related with bigger and better turbines but also on the management of the assets and projects during their whole useful lifetime. This Theme focuses on challenges relating to cost reduction, supply chain sustainability, turbine operations and maintenance and environmental impact.
- Cost reductions: Technologies and methodologies to reduce costs across the lifecycle, modelling full LCoE and sensitivity to parameters.
- Supply chain sustainability: Ensuring the integrity of the supply chain, identification of challenges and possible solutions.
- Operations and maintenance: New trends in turbine condition and performance monitoring, maintenance strategy optimization
- Environmental impacts: Assessing lifecycle environmental impact, impact on habitats, water tables, reducing environmental impacts, blade reuse/recycling, turbine repowering
Theme 6: Structures, Safety and Reliability
This Theme is concerned with structural life-cycle aspects of support structures from preliminary design through to fitness-for-service assessment and the safe, cost-effective maintenance of fixed and floating wind foundations. The topic will address developments in materials and progressive damage mechanisms in addition to structural health monitoring and remote/autonomous intervention methods. A core underpinning principle is a reliability-based probabilistic approach to fitness-for-service assessment, quantifying uncertainty so that operational decisions are based on quantitative risk assessments.
- Substructures: Fixed and floating, existing and future practice & standards;
- Safety: Access systems, training standards, new technologies and methodologies;
- Big data: reliability of information, quantitative risk assessment.
Theme 7: Offshore Wind Energy
Offshore wind is a young, vibrant and developing energy sector that has vast potential for research and innovation. The industry constantly strives for new technological solutions and process optimisations and is now beginning to take the first steps into more severe environments and the roll out of floating platforms. This Theme will address and showcase state of the art research in offshore wind and highlight the next generation of innovations that will unlock currently untapped wind resources.
- Design Aspects: Environmental loadings, Geotechnics, Weather Windows , design codes and load cases, integrated numerical tools, multi rotor platforms
- Offshore operations: Installation approaches, O+M Strategies and methods, Decommissioning, Access systems, Future vessels, Robotic systems
- Floating wind: Floating Platforms, mooring and anchoring systems, development methods, tools and test infrastructures
- Synergies with other industries: Oil and gas, wave and tidal energy, aquaculture, hydrogen production, carbon sequestration, hybrid platforms, multiuse potential.
Theme 8: Special Sessions
This WESC Theme is specifically for cross-cutting sessions and Mini-Symposia which do not fit under the other 7 Themes. This is sure to be an exciting Theme at WESC which will maximise the multi-disciplinary nature of the event. For more information on Mini-Symposia and how to propose them, click here.
Confirmed Sessions:
- “Airborne Wind Energy” -> Dr. Roland Schmehl (TU Delft)
- “Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Wind Energy” -> Dr. Lars Landberg (DNV-GL)
- “IEA Task 37” -> Dr. Katherine Dykes (NREL)