An Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult programme has concluded that annual energy production on wind turbines could increase by between 1.5% and 2% with repairs to moderate blade erosion.
The blade leading edge programme developed in collaboration with Centrica was carried out by RES’ measurement services department.
It focussed on an offshore wind farm and used Zephir lidar technology to assess power performance before and after blade repairs were carried out.
“The results will allow owner/operators to optimise their repair and maintenance strategies, balancing cost versus benefit in order to minimise levelised cost of energy impact and maximise revenue,” ORE Catapult said.
Two further two measurement campaigns will now be carried out as part of the wider collaborative industry programme of works, to validate the results and the methodology used, it added.
ORE Catapult innovation manager Andrew Kay said: “This measurement represents a single result from a single turbine type, site, and level of erosion.
“As such it is extremely important that further studies are performed to build a more complete picture of how the level of erosion, site, turbine and atmospheric variables influence the impact of erosion on performance.”
Image: ORE Catapult
