ABSTRACT
Currently the SIA (Sequential Iterated Approach) and its design flow is used in China's offshore wind projects bidding stage. The wind turbine manufacturer usually only submits the tower's design and weight. Therefore, the weight of whole support structure cannot be guaranteed the lightest. This paper aims to present the IDA (Integrated Design Approach) to search for the global optimum for the whole support structure. To investigate the mechanisms of IDA, this paper illustrates the design flow and compares the results of 18 designs with different tower bottom and monopile's diameters. The results demonstrate that by IDA the weight of the whole support structure is greatly lighter than the design obtained by SIA. This paper provides guidance for the further offshore wind project bidding rule. It is suggested that the wind turbine manufacturer and the design institute could present the whole design plan together in the bidding stage to find the global optimum and reduce the offshore LCoE (Levelized Cost of Energy).
China is rich in offshore wind power which can be used for energy development. The offshore wind farm is close to the power consumption center. The development of China's wind power is gradually transferred to the sea in recent years. On May 24, 2019, issued by the national development and reform commission notice on "the perfecting of wind power feed-in tariff policy", the offshore wind power feed-in tariff is changed to guide price. All new approved offshore wind projects determine the feed-in tariff through competition way and will be gradually reduced the subsidies for new approved offshore projects. This policy requires the whole industry to accelerate technological innovation, break down industry barriers, and continue to complete technical experience accumulation. The whole industry finally aims to achieve the goal of reducing the LCoE in offshore wind power through the coordination of the industrial chain.
