The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has announced the funding of MAXFARM, a three-year project to improve the reliability, lifespan and efficiency of offshore wind farms.
The consortium includes researchers from Imperial College London’s Department of Aeronautics alongside other academic institutions and a number of commercial partners.
MAXFARM (MAXimizing wind Farm Aerodynamic Resource via advanced Modelling) aims to build an integrated multi-scale approach to the computational modelling of wind farms. Better computer models will inform future operational decisions to maximize power output and the operational life of these facilities. The ultimate goal of the project is reducing the cost of generating energy from offshore wind.
Dr Rafael Palacios is the lead researcher at Imperial, “This is a very interesting project for me. A lot of my work has been on integrated aeroelastic modelling of highly-efficient aircraft and it will be great to apply these techniques to help solve problems in the energy sector.”
MAXFARM will start in November 2015 with nearly £1.5M funding from EPSRC. The full list of partners is Imperial College London, University of Surrey, Loughborough University, University of Strathclyde, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, BMT Fluid Mechanics Ltd, DNV GL Energy, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Renewable Energy Systems Ltd, Satellite Applications Catapult, SgurrEnergy Ltd, Zenotech Ltd and ZephIR Lidar.
Image: Vestas Wind Systems