Abstract

1. Software for the optimal placement of wind turbines SOPCAWIND Naïma Vande Walle1, Nicolaz Guidon1, David de La Vega2, David Guerra2, Aritz Rabadan3, Gábor Nyögéri4, Valentin Sánchez5, Diana Manjarres5, Anika Geib6 PO. ID 496 2 UPV/EHU Bilbao (Bizkaia, Spain) email: {david.delavega, david.guerra}@ehu.es 1 3E Brussels (Belgium) email: {Naima.VandeWalle, Nicolaz.Guidon}@3e.eu 3 EUROHELP Consulting Donostia-San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa, Spain) email: arabadan@euro-help.es 6 ANEMOS Reppenstedt (Germany) email: anika.geib@anemos.de 4 GEOX KFT Budapest (Hungary) email: nyogeri@geox.hu 5 Optima Area TECNALIA RESEARCH & INNOVATION Zamudio (Bizkaia, Spain) email: {valentin.sanchez, diana.manjarres}@tecnalia.com Abstract • Results The development of a wind park is a complex process, during which the screening for potential locations and the design of the best layout configuration are crucial steps. This project definition phase is a two-fold process. Firstly, the selected area must be screened for any constraints which could potentially obstruct or limit project development. Secondly, a trade-off between the yield, costs and the possible environmental impacts must be considered to be able to select the most favourable park layout. The overall objective of the Sopcawind project is to make an operational software tool, which will result in a considerable time reduction and gain in efficiency in the development a new wind park. Within the framework of this FP7 project, relevant, heterogeneous datasets were gathered, standardized and integrated into one common database which is linked to an optimisation tool. The gathered datasets comprise relevant constraints, terrain data, user owned data and wind data. The optimisation tool is an iterative heuristically-based multi-objective algorithm which optimizes the park layout for a number of criteria as chosen by the user. The final result of the tool will be the definition of (an) optimal layout(s) for a selected research area. This will enable project developers and consultancy companies to easily integrate datasets in a systematic way and analyse the development opportunities of a certain research area, using a simple GIS interface. • Data selection and acquisition • Two validation zones have been selected: Flanders and Basque country  Complete database should be available for these areas • 142 datasets for 5 different coverage (Europe, Spain, Belgium, Flanders and Basque country) areas have been analyzed • 96.5% of the datasets have been harvested or agreed to be transferred when needed for their inclusion in the SOPCAWIND data pool • A non-automatic update procedure has been added. This will enable the project developer to systematically update the database • Wind data for Europe based on MERRA data. For validation areas: 2km x 2km, 10min temporal resolution • A design procedure has been defined: Input constraints are divided into different categories: • Dataset management and integration • Definition of data integration, transformation and harmonisation processes • First test version of the database has been deployed • Creation of a draft API for dataset download • Open Source Technologies: PostGIS Sopcawind Software tool – Global Flow Diagram 1) • Optimisation tool • The optimisation tool based on a meta-heuristic multi-objective algorithm relies on different modules: • Cost module: The cost for the complete wind farm including operational costs, purchase cost, cost of cabling, etc. • Yield module: Different calculation methods have been evaluated and a selection was done based on time, accuracy (represent wind potential variation within the project area), integration in overall design process. •  Algorithm 1: Creation of a wind map for a certain area •  Algorithm 2: Calculation of a yield value for a predefined park layout • GIS Module: This module comprise the terrain info and the restrictions associated with the specific surroundings • Impact module: Calculates the possible impact of the wind farm eg. Flickering, and telecommunication services • Website Development • Website: http://www.sopcawind.eu/ • Will be used as users portal  the user will enter the tool via web-based interface • Open Source Technologies: Java, OpenLayers, Geoserver, Spring Framework, PostgreSQL, etc. • Prototype of the Sopcawind tool has been developed 2) 3) 4) 5) Conclusions • The development of the Sopcawind tool is divided in the following steps: • Identification of the relevant datasets and creation of the Sopcawind database • Selection of the project area by means of the application of several first and second level constraints • Development of the optimization algorithm based on conflicting criteria such as the maximization of the yield and the minimization of the overall cost • Selection of the optimal park layouts • Application of impact studies related to flickering and telecommunication services Relevant datasets for wind farm design have been identified, described and gathered in the Sopcawind database. A first test version of the designed database has been developed and is currently being tested. The definition for the separate modules of the optimization algorithm has been done and the algorithms are currently being created. A first prototype of the complete tool and a pre-test is scheduled to be ready by May 2013. However, the complete, web based interface tool, validated based on real case scenarios, will be up and running by May 2014. References Acknowledgement Sopcawind: Software for the optimal place calculation for WIND-farms. FP7- ICT-2011-SME-DCL 296164-D7.2 Six Monthly Report (M6) The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme ([FP7/2007- 2013] [FP7/2007-2011]) under grant agreement n°296164 EWEA 2013, Vienna, Austria: Europe’s Premier Wind Energy Event