Reserves of fossil energy sources are starting to run low, so the government has launched renewable energy sources. The National Energy Policy (KEN) targets Indonesia by 2025 to use renewable energy sources of 23% of its energy needs. Because of this, the government has started opening places that have the potential for generating renewable energy, especially the areas where PLN electricity cannot reach, withincluding the southern coastal area of Kebumen. The wind potential in this coastal area of Java Island meets the criteria for a Wind Power Plant. The purpose of this research was to analyze the wind potential in the southern coastal area of Kebumen. The specific purpose of this study was to determine the wind speed and the location and calculate the power generated by the wind in the southern coastal area of Kebumen to determine the potential of PLTB in Kebumen area. The stages of this research consisted of retrieval of secondary data, analysis using Excel, and power analysis using HOMER. Based on wind speed data from NASA, the southern coastal area of Kebumen is suitable for making PLTB, especially Buayan and Ayah, because the wind speed between 2016-2020 is 2.15 m/s. Then, the power produced annually in these places, based on the HOMER application, was 86.50 kWh/year.
Before a new wind farm can be built, politics and regional planning must approve of the respective area as a suitable site. For this purpose, large-scale potential computations were carried out to identify suitable areas. The calculation of wind power plant potential usually focuses on capturing the highest energy potential. In Germany, due to an energy production reimbursement factor defined in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (&ldquo ; Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz&rdquo ; EEG) in 2017, the influence of energy quantities on the power plant potential varies, economically and spatially. Therefore, in addition to the calculation of energy potentials, it was also necessary to perform a potential analysis in terms of economic efficiency. This allows, on the one hand, an economic review of the areas tendered by the regional planning and, on the other hand, a spatial-economic analysis that expands the parameters in the search for new areas. In this work, (a) potentials with regard to the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) were calculated by the example of the electricity market in Germany, which were then (b) spatially and statistically processed on the level of the federal states.
This thesis deals with the process of decision making, more precisely the process of deriving well-grounded investment decisions in the wind energy sector. The question about the value of an offshore wind park in the German part of the North- or Baltic Sea will be discussed by creating a bottom-up analysis of the expected cash flows and their volatilities. Additionally to standard routines like the NPV, real option theory will be introduced and applied in order to derive the value of the management's flexibility in such a project. Therefore, next to economic theory, the physical basics of wind energy production, as well as the corresponding legal situation are introduced. Additionally, the political influence on offshore wind energy is investigated. A statistic framework for the analysis of wind speed data is built up and applied. Based on this wide-spread theoretical framework, an approach to model the sources of uncertainty and their influence on a wind park's value process is motivated and derived. Out of the gained knowledge on this process, the management is supposed to have two different kinds of opportunities to influence the project's value: The option to enlarge the wind park, or the possibility to abandon the project and consequently avoid dramatic losses. The combination of both possibilities is shown to be a compound real option. In other words, the value of an option is influenced by another option. This non-trivial structure of flexibility will be implemented in a decision tree approach, as it was introduced in Copeland and Antikarov [2003]. By solving this decision tree, it can be shown, how the value of flexibility can influence the optimal investment advice in contrast to the basic NPV rule, which in reality is used for most investment decisions. Consequently, it is favorable to use real option theory for investment decisions, because otherwise an investor might ignore value-creating investments and thus act in a suboptimal way.
Wind power plants are the fastest growing source of renewable energy. The European Union expects to generate 230 GW wind power, in which the offshore wind power is expected to contribute 40 GW. Offshore wind power plants have better wind velocity profile leading to a higher energy yield. Europe has a huge potential of offshore wind energy, which is a green and sustainable resource. All these have led to the development of offshore wind power plants. However, overall cost of the offshore installation, operation, and maintenance are higher than those of the onshore wind power plants. Therefore, the plant size needs to be higher such that the unit cost of energy can be lowered. An overall increase in operating efficiency would further reduce the cost of energy, thereby increasing the viability of the project. Multi-MW variable speed wind turbine generators, of unit sizes between 3-10 MW, have been developed so as to take advantage of the lower cost per MW of installed wind power capacity. The current trend is that these large units will comprise of multi-pole, low-speed synchronous generators equipped with full scale converters. VSC-HVDC cable transmission is a favourable option for a large and remote offshore wind power plant, which needs a long distance cable connection to the onshore power grid. It has lower power losses, higher transmission efficiency, and fast control of both the active and the reactive power. This dissertation presents a test system for the simulation analysis of different operational and control aspects of a potential wind power plant with VSC-HVDC connection to the onshore grid. The test system is modelled in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment for the time domain electromagnetic simulation. In such a system, the offshore terminal of VSC-HVDC is controlled to establish the reference voltage waveform in the offshore grid. The ac voltage controller in the offshore VSC-HVDC terminal has been improved by utilizing the measured active and reactive power-flows to determine the feed-forward terms for the current references in the dq-axes. HVDC transmission decouples the offshore grid frequency from the onshore grid frequency. Three different methods have been evaluated here for relaying the onshore grid frequency to the offshore grid, such that the wind power plant can participate in the grid frequency control. One of the schemes does not involve communication, while the other two depend upon communication of onshore frequency signal. Similarly, three different methods have been evaluated and compared for the fault ride through behaviour of this system. The current control capability of the converters in the offshore wind power plant grid can be utilized to enhance the fault time behaviour of the whole system. A novel approach has been proposed to allow a calculated amount of negative sequence current injection from the VSC-HVDC converters as well as the full scale converters in the wind turbine generators. The proposed approach is demonstrated to have lower power oscillations, and hence, lower dc voltage overshoots in the VSC-HVDC system. On the protection side, the coordination of over-current relays has been analysed in the new environment. A simple yet reliable scheme utilizing the well-known over-current relay characteristics has been presented for the detection of faults and the determination of faulted feeder in the offshore grid. It is demonstrated that the communication capability of modern relays can help avoid the potential cases of over-reach. The test system is modelled for real time simulation in RSCAD/RTDS platform, such that the physical relays could be connected to it. The performance of the proposed relay coordination scheme has been tested using an industrial relay. Moreover, since RTDS simulation allows continuous simulation of the system in real time, multiple events can be simulated. Simulation studies have been carried out for the fault detection, circuit breaker tripping, and system recovery after fault clearance.
Wind turbine harmonic emissions due to power electronics are a well-known power quality concern in wind power plants (WPPs). This problem may be increased by resonances because they amplify harmonic distortion around resonance frequencies. Hence, the resonance phenomenon is widely analysed in the literature. Resonance studies usually consider wind turbines (WTs) as ideal current sources, which can lead to inaccurate results. The study explores the effect of WT converter control on WPP harmonic response. It contributes expressions of WT equivalent harmonic impedance including current control of the grid side converter. This impedance allows WT converter control to be considered in WPP modelling to analyse its effect on harmonic response and resonances. PSCAD and Matlab/Simulink simulations were performed to validate the analytical expressions and illustrate the usefulness of the work in predicting harmonic distortions at WT terminals in actual WPPs. ; L. Sainz's work was carried out with the financial support of the 'Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad' (grant ENE2013-46205- C5-3-R), which the authors gratefully acknowledge. M. Cheah- Mane's work received funding from the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ under REA grant agreement no. 317221, project title MEDOW.
According to the Directive 2009/28EC of European Parliament and Council, dated April 23, 2009, Lithuania should strive for the part of renewable energy sources in the balance of electric energy to reach no less than 23% in the year 2020. The most favorable condition for development of wind energy in Lithuania is on a 50 km width zone by the seaside. Parks of wind power plants are expanding fast, but there is a lack of data about noise generated by wind turbines. The noise generated by the wind power plants is known to fluctuate and may spread up to 2 km beyond the wind power park. Research of noise generated by wind power plants was performed in the western part of Lithuania, near Rudaiciai village (Kretinga district) at the park of four wind power plants. Measurements were performed in cold and warm seasons when different wind speed, environment humidity and air temperatures dominated. The sound pressure levels of noise generated by wind power plants were established. The noise spread in the wind parks and beyond was evaluated according to hygiene norm HN 33:2007 "Acoustic noise. Noise value limits in the residential and public buildings and their surroundings". Article in English. Vėjo jėgainių skleidžiamo triukšmo ekvivalentinių ir didžiausių verčių tyrimai Santrauka.Remiantis Europos Sajungos Parlamento ir Tarybos 2009 m. balandžio 23 d. direktyva 2009/28/EB Lietuva turi siekti, kad 2020 m. atsinaujinančiųjų energijos išteklių dalis šalies elektros energijos balanse sudarytų ne mažiau kaip 23%. Lietuvoje vėjo energetikai plėtoti palankiausios sąlygos yra maždaug 50 km pločio juosta prie jūros pakrantės. Sparčiai plečiantis vėjo jėgainių parkams trūksta duomenų apie vėjo jėgainių skleidžiamą triukšmą. Žinoma, kad triukšmas nuo vėjo jėgainių yra fliuktuojantis bei gali sklisti iki 2 km už vėjo jėgainių parko ribų.Vėjo jėgainių skleidžiamo triukšmo tyrimai buvo atliekami vakarų Lietuvoje, Rūdaičių k. (Kretingos r.) prieigose esančiame keturių vėjo jėgainių parke. Atlikti žiemos ir vasaros matavimai, vyraujant skirtingiems vėjo greičiams, aplin-kos oro drėgniui, oro temperatūrai. Nustatyti vėjo jėgainių parko skleidžiamo triukšmo, garso slėgio lygiai. Pagal higienos normą HN 33:2007 ,,Akustinis triukšmas. Triukšmo ribiniai dydžiai gyvenamuosiuose ir visuomeninės paskirties pastatuose bei jų aplinkoje" įvertinta triukšmo sklaida vėjo jėgainių pake ir už jo ribų. Reikšminiai žodžiai:triukšmas,vėjo jėgainė,vėjo jėgainių parkas Исследование эквивалентных и максимальных зна чений шума, распространяемого ветряными установками Резюме.На основании Директивы 2009/28/УС, принятой 23 апреля 2009 г. Парламентом и Советом Евросоюза, Литва должна стремиться к тому, чтобы к 2020 г. часть возобновляемых источников энергии в электроэнергетическомбалансе страны составляла по крайней мере 23%. В Литве наиболее благоприятные условия для полученияветряной энергии могут быть созданы на полосе шириной примерно в 50 км вдоль зоны морского побережъя. В связи с интенсивным развитием парков ветряных установок данных о создаваемом ими шуме не достаточно.Известно, что шум от ветряных турбин флуктирует и может распространяться до 2 км за пределы парковветряных установок. Исследования четырех ветряных турбин и создаваемого ими шума проводились в парке ветряных установок на Западе Литвы, в Рудайчяй (Кретингский район). Измерения проводились зимой и летом при разной скорости ветра, влажности и температуре воздуха. Установлены уровни распространяемого ветряными установками шумаи звукового давления. На основании гигиенической нормы HN 33:2007 «Акустический шум. Предельныевеличины шума для жилых зданий, зданий общественного назначения и их среды» установлено распространениешума в парке ветряных установок и за его пределами. Ключевые слова:шум,ветряная турбина,парк ветряных установок
Interest in the use of renewable energy in Latvia is increasing every year. Government support and availability of large unpopulated areas on the coast makes the use of these lands for the placement of large wind power plants (WPP) attractive. The key factors that determine the choice of the location of WPP are reliable information about distribution of the resource of wind energy in this area and the influence of wind turbines on the environment. The paper presents the results of years-long observations on the density fluctuations of wind energy at heights of 10 to 60 m in the area in the Baltic Sea coast in Ventspils and Ainaži. The velocity observations since 2007 have been gathered by measurements complex of the LOGGER 9200 Symphonie type. The results are presented in the form of tables, bar charts and graphs. Extrapolation results of wind velocity and density mean values on heights up to 150 m for the two areas with different terrain types were shown. The distribution of acoustic noise in the vicinity of the WPP was studied and an assessment of its impact on the environment in accordance with the Latvian government requirements was conducted
WOS: 000430416000041 ; The scenario analysis was conducted for a wind power plant in the Cappadocia region, which was selected due to its importance as a historical region and high wind potential. This study determined that the construction of wind power plant can be suitable for the Cappadocia region by using the escalation method of inflation. This study aims to determine the feasible investment cost for wind power plant construction with a suitable economic method. This case study predicted that a 3 MW wind energy plant would be constructed, and an energy production of 7884000 kWh/y can be economical for the Cappadocia region of Turkey. Total investment cost of the wind power plant was estimated to be $ 13540800, and unit electricity cost was approximately 0.14689 $/kWh. The construction of the wind energy plant was evaluated by escalation method for three successive years (2014, 2015 and 2016). Results show that a wind energy plant is economical for the Cappadocia region (Turkey) due to its high-energy wind potential (Wind data acquisition station of Derinkuyu, Cappadocia region). The Government of Turkey, which supports the entrepreneur, imposes no taxes for wind power plant (1 MW). The unit of electrical energy cost for the Cappadocia region was compared with benchmarks from case studies. The effectiveness of wind energy potential is apparently high for the Cappadocia region. The cost of electrical energy for the Cappadocia region was more efficient than the other case studies that referred the significance of an economic analysis of the wind power plant. ; Republic of Turkey Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs General Directorate of Meteorology; Nevsehir Directorate of State Meteorology; Republic of Turkey Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs General Directorate of Meteorology [14938 EBYS] ; This study was supported by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs General Directorate of Meteorology and Nevsehir Directorate of State Meteorology. All the wind station data (Station No: 18121 and station height of 1321 m) were ensured from a current wind measurement mast in Derinkuyu. The data were last updated on April 1, 2015. Data supporting ID was 14938 EBYS from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs General Directorate of Meteorology. Wind data comprising wind velocity, direction, and flow time at a height of 10 m were collected by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs General Directorate of Meteorology for a period of 34 months, from June 2012 to April 2015.
У статті проведено аналіз перспектив впровадження вітроелектростанцій України. Розглянуто нормативно–правові акти та світові тенденції в цій галузі, географічні та кліматичні умови країни, а також екологічні аспекти і питання надійності вітрогенераторів. Акцентовано увагу на відсутність шкідливих залишків при роботі вітрогенераторів. Проведений економічний порівняльний аналіз роботи вітроелектростанцій підтвердив економію паливних ресурсів. Проведені дослідження довели доцільність застосування альтернативних джерел електричної енергії, зокрема енергії вітру. ; The article discusses the analysis results of prospects of the wind power plants introduction in Ukraine. The attention focuses on the advantages of wind energy compared to traditional methods of power generation. The authors analyze the major achievements of the world practice in this area, with a help of government support programs. They also provide examples of the planning development of wind power plants in the other states. The article gives the studying results of development conditions of wind power industry in Ukraine. The climatic conditions are discussed and on their basis areas of the country which are suitable for the use of wind turbines are identified. The regulatory legal acts of the country are also studied. The attention is drawn to the absence of hazardous wastes of wind turbines. The calculations are carried out on the fuel economy and the other resources for the thermal, hydro- and nuclear power plants, provided the development of wind power plants. It follows from these studies that the development of wind energy could lead to resource saving for conventional power plants, as well as give profit to the state. The conducted research proved the feasibility of the alternative energy sources, particularly of the wind power.
Offshore wind is an emerging energy sector with a huge potential to be tapped in the near future. Offshore Wind Power Plants (OWPPs) are becoming increasingly relevant in Europe and worldwide mainly because the wind speeds are potentially higher and smoother than their onshore counterpart, which leads to higher wind power generation. Moreover, OWPPs have less space limitations constraints, so that it allows the possibility of using larger wind turbines. Nowadays, environmental and social aspects are forcing OWPPs to be constructed further from shore, (which usually leads to deeper waters) and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Several studies have demonstrated that if the distance between an OWPP and its grid connection point at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) exceeds a certain critical distance (approximately 55-70 km), HVDC transmission becomes a more interesting solution than HVAC, since reduce cable energy losses and decrease reactive power requirements. This trend towards larger OWPPs located further away from shore is posing some technical, economic and political challenges that must be overcome to be fully competitive in the longer term compared to other energy sources. Today, there is an important concern about reducing the current Levelised Cost Of Energy (LCOE) of offshore wind projects by improving system reliability and availability, reducing O&M costs and/or increasing energy generation. This thesis aims to propose novel electrical WPP concepts more cost-effective than the existing ones and to comprehensive analyse their technical and economic feasibility. Specific challenges related to the design, optimisation, modelling, operation and control of these new concepts will be addressed in the study. All the concepts presented throughout this thesis, are focused on the collector grid of an OWPP, which encompasses all the necessary equipment to collect the power generated by the wind turbines and to export it to the offshore transmission HVDC platform. The first novel WPP ...
Premi extraordinari doctorat 2013-2014 ; Offshore wind is an emerging energy sector with a huge potential to be tapped in the near future. Offshore Wind Power Plants (OWPPs) are becoming increasingly relevant in Europe and worldwide mainly because the wind speeds are potentially higher and smoother than their onshore counterpart, which leads to higher wind power generation. Moreover, OWPPs have less space limitations constraints, so that it allows the possibility of using larger wind turbines. Nowadays, environmental and social aspects are forcing OWPPs to be constructed further from shore, (which usually leads to deeper waters) and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Several studies have demonstrated that if the distance between an OWPP and its grid connection point at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) exceeds a certain critical distance (approximately 55-70 km), HVDC transmission becomes a more interesting solution than HVAC, since reduce cable energy losses and decrease reactive power requirements. This trend towards larger OWPPs located further away from shore is posing some technical, economic and political challenges that must be overcome to be fully competitive in the longer term compared to other energy sources. Today, there is an important concern about reducing the current Levelised Cost Of Energy (LCOE) of offshore wind projects by improving system reliability and availability, reducing O&M costs and/or increasing energy generation. This thesis aims to propose novel electrical WPP concepts more cost-effective than the existing ones and to comprehensive analyse their technical and economic feasibility. Specific challenges related to the design, optimisation, modelling, operation and control of these new concepts will be addressed in the study. All the concepts presented throughout this thesis, are focused on the collector grid of an OWPP, which encompasses all the necessary equipment to collect the power generated by the wind turbines and to export it to the offshore transmission HVDC platform. The first novel WPP concept assessed can be applied to either an onshore or offshore WPP with a MVAC collection grid connected to the grid through either an HVAC or HVDC transmission link, whilst the rest of the OWPP configurations analysed are motivated by the presence of HVDC technology and its ability to electrically decouple the OWPP from the onshore power system. Thus, the first wind power plant concept evaluated consists in properly derating some specific wind turbines in order to reduce the wake effect within the collection grid and, therefore, to maximise the energy yield by the whole wind power plant during its lifetime of the installation. The following three OWPP concepts analysed arise thanks to the opportunity provided by HVDC technology to operate the collection grid at variable frequency. Thus, the second proposed OWPP concept investigated is based on removing the individual power converter of each wind turbine and connecting a synchronous generator-based OWPP (or a wind turbine cluster) to a single large power converter which operates at variable frequency. Likewise, the third OWPP configuration assessed deals with the optimisation of this aforementioned concept and with the proposal of an hybrid MVAC/MVDC OWPP concept for the offshore collection grid. Regarding the fourth OWPP design, it consists of a DFIG-based OWPP with reduced power converters (approximately 5% of rated slip) connected to a single HVDC substation. This proposal is analysed both static and dynamically by means of simulations. Finally, the last novel OWPP concept presented in this thesis deals with the analysis of an entire offshore wind power plant in DC, with the aim of reducing the losses both in the inter-array and the export cable(s). In general terms, all the novel OWPP concepts analysed suggest a good potential to be applied to future offshore wind power plants by reducing in all the cases the LCOE in comparison with the existing OWPPs. ; La energía eólica marina es un sector emergente que se encuentra en plena expansión. Múltiples circunstancias tales como que cada vez sea más difícil encontrar lugares propicios en tierra (principalmente en Europa) para la instalación de parques eólicos, que a medida que el parque se aleja de la costa el impacto visual y auditivo es menor y que en el mar el viento sopla con más intensidad y de una manera más constante que en tierra, lo cual posibilita obtener una mayor generación de energía eólica, han provocado que cada vez existan más parques eólicos marinos. Hoy en día, factores medioambientales y sociales están obligando a construir los parques eólicos marinos cada vez más alejados de la costa y se espera que esta tendencia continúe en los próximos años. Varios estudios han demostrado que a partir de una cierta distancia crítica entre el parque eólico y su punto de conexión a tierra (aproximadamente 55-70 km), la transmisión mediante alta tensión en corriente continua (ATCC) resulta una opción más interesante que a través de una transmisión en alta tensión de corriente alterna (ATCA), ya que las pérdidas en los cables se ven reducidas, así como los requerimientos de potencia reactiva. Esta tendencia hacia construir parques eólicos marinos cada vez mayores y a ubicarlos más alejados de la costa, supone el tener que resolver ciertos retos técnicos, económicos y políticos a fin de poder ser más competitivos en el futuro en comparación con otras fuentes de generación de energía. Hoy en día existe una importante preocupación por tratar de reducir el elevado coste actual de la energía para los proyectos de eólica marina a base de mejorar la fiabilidad y disponibilidad del sistema, reducir costes de operación y mantenimiento y/o incrementar la generación de energía. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo proponer conceptos eléctricos novedosos, aplicados a parques eólicos marinos, que resulten más rentables que los existentes actualmente. Asimismo, esta tesis pretende analizar de una manera exhaustiva la factibilidad, tanto técnica como económica, de dichos conceptos. Asuntos tales como el diseño, la optimización, el modelaje, la operación y el control son presentes en la tesis. El alcance del trabajo se focaliza en la zona colectora de un parque eólico y, por lo tanto, no se analiza, el sistema de transmisión ni su integración a la red. Dicha zona comprende todo el equipamiento necesario para recolectar la potencia generada por los aerogeneradores y transmitirla a la plataforma marina de ATCC. El primer concepto innovador de parque eólico evaluado puede ser aplicado tanto en parques situados en tierra como en el mar, que tengan una red colectora interna de corriente alterna en media tensión (MTCA) y un sistema de transmisión tanto ATCC o ATCA. Respecto al resto de configuraciones presentadas, estas vienen motivadas por la presencia de la tecnología ATCC y su capacidad para desacoplar eléctricamente la red interna del parque eólico del sistema eléctrico de potencia situado en tierra. Así pues, la primera propuesta de parque eólico a analizar consiste en operar algunas máquinas concretas por debajo de su punto óptimo de operación a fin de poder reducir el efecto estela dentro del parque y poder así maximizar la potencia total extraída por el mismo. Las tres siguientes configuraciones de parque analizadas se fundamentan en la posibilidad que ofrece la tecnología ATCC de poder operar la red interna del parque eólico a una frecuencia variable. En base a este nuevo concepto, la segunda propuesta de parque investigada consiste en prescindir de los convertidores individuales de cada turbina y conectar todos los generadores síncronos del parque eólico (o un simple grupo de máquinas) directamente al convertidor central, el cual opera a frecuencia variable. El tercer diseño de parque eólico se basa en una topología híbrida dentro del parque combinado MTCA y MTCC. Esta configuración surge de optimizar la propuesta anterior de parque eólico. Asimismo, la cuarta propuesta a analizar estudia la posibilidad de tener un parque consistente en generadores de inducción doblemente alimentados conectados a un convertidor común de tensión controlada situado en la plataforma marina, en el cual los convertidores de cada máquina sean de un tamaño menor a lo habitual (aproximadamente a un deslizamiento nominal de un 5%). Este sistema es analizado en detalle tanto estática como dinámicamente. Finalmente, el último concepto que se presenta en esta tesis analiza la posibilidad de considerar un parque eólico marino completamente (transmisión y red interna del parque) constituido mediante tecnología en CC, con el fin de poder reducir las pérdidas tanto en la red interna del parque como en el cable de exportación. En términos generales se puede concluir que todos los conceptos propuestos a lo largo de esta tesis sugieren un gran potencial para poder ser aplicados en futuros parques eólicos marinos, ya que su coste de energía se ve reducido en comparación con los parques eólicos existentes hoy en día. ; Award-winning ; Postprint (published version)
Premi extraordinari doctorat 2013-2014 ; Offshore wind is an emerging energy sector with a huge potential to be tapped in the near future. Offshore Wind Power Plants (OWPPs) are becoming increasingly relevant in Europe and worldwide mainly because the wind speeds are potentially higher and smoother than their onshore counterpart, which leads to higher wind power generation. Moreover, OWPPs have less space limitations constraints, so that it allows the possibility of using larger wind turbines. Nowadays, environmental and social aspects are forcing OWPPs to be constructed further from shore, (which usually leads to deeper waters) and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Several studies have demonstrated that if the distance between an OWPP and its grid connection point at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) exceeds a certain critical distance (approximately 55-70 km), HVDC transmission becomes a more interesting solution than HVAC, since reduce cable energy losses and decrease reactive power requirements. This trend towards larger OWPPs located further away from shore is posing some technical, economic and political challenges that must be overcome to be fully competitive in the longer term compared to other energy sources. Today, there is an important concern about reducing the current Levelised Cost Of Energy (LCOE) of offshore wind projects by improving system reliability and availability, reducing O&M costs and/or increasing energy generation. This thesis aims to propose novel electrical WPP concepts more cost-effective than the existing ones and to comprehensive analyse their technical and economic feasibility. Specific challenges related to the design, optimisation, modelling, operation and control of these new concepts will be addressed in the study. All the concepts presented throughout this thesis, are focused on the collector grid of an OWPP, which encompasses all the necessary equipment to collect the power generated by the wind turbines and to export it to the offshore transmission HVDC platform. The first novel WPP concept assessed can be applied to either an onshore or offshore WPP with a MVAC collection grid connected to the grid through either an HVAC or HVDC transmission link, whilst the rest of the OWPP configurations analysed are motivated by the presence of HVDC technology and its ability to electrically decouple the OWPP from the onshore power system. Thus, the first wind power plant concept evaluated consists in properly derating some specific wind turbines in order to reduce the wake effect within the collection grid and, therefore, to maximise the energy yield by the whole wind power plant during its lifetime of the installation. The following three OWPP concepts analysed arise thanks to the opportunity provided by HVDC technology to operate the collection grid at variable frequency. Thus, the second proposed OWPP concept investigated is based on removing the individual power converter of each wind turbine and connecting a synchronous generator-based OWPP (or a wind turbine cluster) to a single large power converter which operates at variable frequency. Likewise, the third OWPP configuration assessed deals with the optimisation of this aforementioned concept and with the proposal of an hybrid MVAC/MVDC OWPP concept for the offshore collection grid. Regarding the fourth OWPP design, it consists of a DFIG-based OWPP with reduced power converters (approximately 5% of rated slip) connected to a single HVDC substation. This proposal is analysed both static and dynamically by means of simulations. Finally, the last novel OWPP concept presented in this thesis deals with the analysis of an entire offshore wind power plant in DC, with the aim of reducing the losses both in the inter-array and the export cable(s). In general terms, all the novel OWPP concepts analysed suggest a good potential to be applied to future offshore wind power plants by reducing in all the cases the LCOE in comparison with the existing OWPPs. ; La energía eólica marina es un sector emergente que se encuentra en plena expansión. Múltiples circunstancias tales como que cada vez sea más difícil encontrar lugares propicios en tierra (principalmente en Europa) para la instalación de parques eólicos, que a medida que el parque se aleja de la costa el impacto visual y auditivo es menor y que en el mar el viento sopla con más intensidad y de una manera más constante que en tierra, lo cual posibilita obtener una mayor generación de energía eólica, han provocado que cada vez existan más parques eólicos marinos. Hoy en día, factores medioambientales y sociales están obligando a construir los parques eólicos marinos cada vez más alejados de la costa y se espera que esta tendencia continúe en los próximos años. Varios estudios han demostrado que a partir de una cierta distancia crítica entre el parque eólico y su punto de conexión a tierra (aproximadamente 55-70 km), la transmisión mediante alta tensión en corriente continua (ATCC) resulta una opción más interesante que a través de una transmisión en alta tensión de corriente alterna (ATCA), ya que las pérdidas en los cables se ven reducidas, así como los requerimientos de potencia reactiva. Esta tendencia hacia construir parques eólicos marinos cada vez mayores y a ubicarlos más alejados de la costa, supone el tener que resolver ciertos retos técnicos, económicos y políticos a fin de poder ser más competitivos en el futuro en comparación con otras fuentes de generación de energía. Hoy en día existe una importante preocupación por tratar de reducir el elevado coste actual de la energía para los proyectos de eólica marina a base de mejorar la fiabilidad y disponibilidad del sistema, reducir costes de operación y mantenimiento y/o incrementar la generación de energía. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo proponer conceptos eléctricos novedosos, aplicados a parques eólicos marinos, que resulten más rentables que los existentes actualmente. Asimismo, esta tesis pretende analizar de una manera exhaustiva la factibilidad, tanto técnica como económica, de dichos conceptos. Asuntos tales como el diseño, la optimización, el modelaje, la operación y el control son presentes en la tesis. El alcance del trabajo se focaliza en la zona colectora de un parque eólico y, por lo tanto, no se analiza, el sistema de transmisión ni su integración a la red. Dicha zona comprende todo el equipamiento necesario para recolectar la potencia generada por los aerogeneradores y transmitirla a la plataforma marina de ATCC. El primer concepto innovador de parque eólico evaluado puede ser aplicado tanto en parques situados en tierra como en el mar, que tengan una red colectora interna de corriente alterna en media tensión (MTCA) y un sistema de transmisión tanto ATCC o ATCA. Respecto al resto de configuraciones presentadas, estas vienen motivadas por la presencia de la tecnología ATCC y su capacidad para desacoplar eléctricamente la red interna del parque eólico del sistema eléctrico de potencia situado en tierra. Así pues, la primera propuesta de parque eólico a analizar consiste en operar algunas máquinas concretas por debajo de su punto óptimo de operación a fin de poder reducir el efecto estela dentro del parque y poder así maximizar la potencia total extraída por el mismo. Las tres siguientes configuraciones de parque analizadas se fundamentan en la posibilidad que ofrece la tecnología ATCC de poder operar la red interna del parque eólico a una frecuencia variable. En base a este nuevo concepto, la segunda propuesta de parque investigada consiste en prescindir de los convertidores individuales de cada turbina y conectar todos los generadores síncronos del parque eólico (o un simple grupo de máquinas) directamente al convertidor central, el cual opera a frecuencia variable. El tercer diseño de parque eólico se basa en una topología híbrida dentro del parque combinado MTCA y MTCC. Esta configuración surge de optimizar la propuesta anterior de parque eólico. Asimismo, la cuarta propuesta a analizar estudia la posibilidad de tener un parque consistente en generadores de inducción doblemente alimentados conectados a un convertidor común de tensión controlada situado en la plataforma marina, en el cual los convertidores de cada máquina sean de un tamaño menor a lo habitual (aproximadamente a un deslizamiento nominal de un 5%). Este sistema es analizado en detalle tanto estática como dinámicamente. Finalmente, el último concepto que se presenta en esta tesis analiza la posibilidad de considerar un parque eólico marino completamente (transmisión y red interna del parque) constituido mediante tecnología en CC, con el fin de poder reducir las pérdidas tanto en la red interna del parque como en el cable de exportación. En términos generales se puede concluir que todos los conceptos propuestos a lo largo de esta tesis sugieren un gran potencial para poder ser aplicados en futuros parques eólicos marinos, ya que su coste de energía se ve reducido en comparación con los parques eólicos existentes hoy en día. ; Award-winning ; Postprint (published version)