FEM Tribune 2020 - Round table Array optimisation

Which methods and tools should be chosen to achieve the optimum cost/production?

At the scale of a farm, new optimisation problems appear: machine layout, subsea cable stability, substation design, etc. The development of new software or modules interfaced with existing products is a major need expressed by all the players in the sector. Such a digital toolbox must allow innovative optimisation methods, while integrating a set of criteria including overall costs, maintenance and environmental integration.

Several initiatives are working to develop such tools and methods. For example, the IEA Wind Task 37, an international technical cooperation programme, aims to coordinate research activities on the holistic approach to wind farms. The current major trends in the field illustrate particularly well the future of other, less mature ORE technologies. In contrast, the ocean energy sector is in dire need of digital farm optimisation tools.

Several collaborative R&D projects have been initiated in recent years on this subject. Focus on VALARRAY, which made it possible to establish a specification of new tools for tidal and offshore floating wind turbines farms, and then on DTOceanPlus, which aims to develop an open source software suite for wave and tidal farms.