Electrical Collectors
As the power capacity of offshore wind farms increases, the adequacy of the wind farm electrical system becomes critical. The efficiency, cost, reliability and performance of the overall wind farm will depend, to a great extent, on the electrical system design.
4 basic designs of an offshore wind farm collector system and important parameters (on photo: The ST Offshore Wind Farm is a modular platform, with the ability to be interconnected. Each smaller section can house three turbines and be independently placed, or connected in a hexagon for tighter coverage.)The overall function of the electrical collector system is to collect power from individual wind turbines and maximize the overall energy generation. An electrical collector can be designed using different layouts depending on the wind farm size and the desired level of collector reliability.
There are various arrangements for wind farm collector systems employed in existing offshore wind farms, whilst others are in a conceptual stage. Four basic designs shown in Figure 1-4 are discussed in this article.
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Edvard Csanyi
Hi, I'm an electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal. I worked twelve years at Schneider Electric in the position of technical support for low- and medium-voltage projects and the design of busbar trunking systems.I'm highly specialized in the design of LV/MV switchgear and low-voltage, high-power busbar trunking (<6300A) in substations, commercial buildings and industry facilities. I'm also a professional in AutoCAD programming.
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