Holistic Insight in Wind Project Development

This PhD course provides an overview of wind politics, wind characteristics and resources, thereby addressing technical, institutional and economic aspects of wind project development. The course gives an overview of the fundamentals of energy measurement, energy availability, energy transmission and energy consumption. At a more detailed level, the following issues will be addressed: Resource assessment, basic principles of wind turbines, wind siting, electricity markets and wind power, technological and economic aspect of storage of intermittent wind power, project management, international markets, and environmental impact assessment processes for wind developments.

Central questions include how wind energy is converted to electric power, as we cover the nexus of mechanics and electric issues from the wind turbine to the electric grid. We will also examine the multi-level influential socio-political aspects which are embedded in communities at state, national and international levels, respectively. The course also describes the principal (technical) tools needed to harvest wind energy. We will cover different types of wind machines, electric grid/smart grid issues, and storage devices. We expect the students to understand how different policies and practices influence just how much wind power is harvested and included into the mix of energies of the electric grid.

The selected course topics provide the students with significant exposure to wind energy science and policy. Each day of the course, the participants will be introduced to the content topic which will provide a necessary overview of the subject. Complementing this will be several scholarly articles representing original research in wind energy and case studies. Videos and simulations are coupled with quantitative tasks to reinforce and develop the participants' understanding of wind energy.

After completion of the course, it is expected that PhD students should be able to:

• identify wind and other renewable technology developments and their place in the utility generation mix
• classify wind turbine and drivetrain architectures
• distinguish the flow and control of power and torque through a wind turbine drivetrain
• apply descriptors of wind characteristics and energy conversion to include calculation of annual energy output
• calculate Annual Energy Production (AEP) and deliver a preliminary layout
• describe wind farm architecture to include siting, layout and electric interconnection
• explain wind turbine and wind farm economic descriptors
• quantify components and concepts associated with the wind power system
• analyse the procurement strategy of a large enterprise or an SME in the sector
• research and analyse a wind energy or policy topic and propose solutions.

The participants are supposed to engage in a mixed structure of lectures, discussions, and case-based teaching, where PhD students will dig into specific projects dealing with real life applications.

This PhD course is based on the following structure:

Week 1 (at Campus Herning):

• Day 1:
  • Wind energy: Introduction and EU wind policies
• Day 2:
  • Wind characteristics and resources
  • Geography of the wind and environmental aspects and impacts
• Day 3:
  • Wind resource assessment, siting and layout
  • Aerodynamics of wind turbines
• Day 4:
  • Wind turbines and how to manage social opposition
  • Construction, maintenance and procurement
• Day 5:
  • Wind energy economics
  • Special topics in wind energy – electricity markets

Week 2 (online via Brightspace):

• Participate in discussion boards by replying to online discussion treads on various wind topics which will be covered and used to strengthen the debate (Brightspace)
• Complete and upload homework (HW) assignments (Brightspace)
• Deliver and upload required final paper (Brightspace)
• Final reflection journal: Participants will reflect on their learning gains and conceptual changes

Enrolled as a PhD student or industrial PhD student at a university, business and social science, technical science or natural science faculty.

Enrolled as last year-student on graduate studies in engineering (MSc in Technology Based Business Development or similar).

5 assignments:

• At the end of day 2, HW on EU policies, wind characteristics and geography of the wind
• At the end of day 3, HW on environmental aspects, wind farm siting and social opposition
• At the end of day 5, HW on procurement and maintenance
• At the end of the second week (Thursday): Upload final paper of 10 standard pages emphasising in any of the following categories:
  • Wind development data
  • Operational and service data
  • Social acceptance of wind energy
  • Research and innovation
  • Physical planning of wind power
• At the end of the second week (Friday), students present online for 10-15 minutes on the core findings of their final paper

• Nawri, N., Petersen, G.N., Bjornsson, H., (...), Hasager, C.B., Clausen, N.-E., 2014, The wind energy potential of Iceland, Renewable Energy, 69, pp. 290-299, doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2014.03.040.
• Esteban, M.D., López-Gutiérrez, J.-S., Negro, V., Gravity-Based Foundations in the Offshore Wind Sector, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2019, 7, 64; doi:10.3390/jmse7030064.
• Koscis G., Xydis, G., Repair process analysis for Wind Turbines equipped with Hydraulic Pitch mechanism on the U.S. market in focus of cost optimization, Applied Sciences, 2019, 9, 3230, DOI: 10.3390/app9163230.
• Papadopoulou, K., Alasis, C., Xydis, G., On the Wind Blade's Surface Roughness due to Dust Accumulation and its Impact on the Wind Turbine's Performance: A Heuristic QBlade-based Modelling Assessment, Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, DOI: 10.1002/ep.13296.
• Enevoldsen, P; Permien, F.-H.; Bakhtaoui, I., von Krauland, A.-K.; Jacobson, M. Z.; Xydis, G.; Sovacool, B. K.; Valentine, S. V.; Luecht, D.; Oxley, G., How Much Wind Power Potential Does Europe Have? Examining European Wind Power Potential with an Enhanced Socio-Technical Atlas, Energy Policy, Vol. 132, 2019, 1092-1100, DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.064.
• Valentine, S. V. (2015). Wind power politics and policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-986272-6.
• Trevor M Letcher (2017), Wind Energy Engineering A Handbook for Onshore and Offshore Wind Turbines.
• Irfan, M., Zhao, Z.-Y., Ahmad, M., Mukeshimana, M.C., Critical factors influencing wind power industry: A diamond model based study of India, 2019, Energy Reports, 5, pp. 1222-1235.