Context. Industrial Decision Support System(DSS) traditionally relies on 2D approach to visualize the scenarios. For some abstract information, like chronological sequence of tasks or data trend, it provides a good visualization. For concrete information, such as location and spatial relationships, 2D visualizations are too abstract. Techniques from Game design, 3D modeling, virtual reality(VR) and animation provides many inspiration to develop a DSS tools for industrial applications. Objectives. The work in our research was to develop a unique prototype for data visualization in wind power systems, and compare it with traditional ones. The product combined 3D VR, 2D graphics, user navigation, and Human Machine Interaction(HMI). It was developed with a game engine, Unity3D. The study explored how much usability can be improved when using applied gamificaion 3D approaches in industrial monitoring and control systems. Methods. The research methods included Literature Review, Commercial Example Analysis, Development, and Evaluation. In the evaluation phase, Systematic Usability Scale(SUS) tests were performed with two independent groups, the testing results were analyzed with statistical method, t-test. Results. The evaluation results showed that an interface developed with 3D virtual reality can provide better usability(include learnability) than traditional 2D industrial interface in wind power system. The difference between them is significant. Conclusions. The study indicates that, compared with the traditional 2D interfaces, the gamification 3D approach in industrial DSS can provide user more comprehensive information visualization, better usability and learnability . It also gives more effective interactions to enhance the user experience. / +46 7695 23408

The installed capacity of offshore wind turbines in Europe is increasing with the monopile being the most common type of foundation. During its lifetime an offshore wind turbine is exposed to high dynamic loads which eventually can result in the fatigue of the substructure. This thesis will show how the linear damage accumulation approach based on the Miner’s rule can be used to estimate the damage induced on the substructure of an offshore wind turbine using measurements from strain gauges. Furthermore, the most important environmental influences will be illustrated and the different stress concentration factors and the size effect introduced in the industry guideline DNVGL-RP-C203 will be analysed towards their effect on the calculated lifetime.

This thesis aims to determine what CSR issues stakeholders in the wind power industry careabout and how stakeholders want to be involved in these issues. The objective is furthermoreto test and improve the theory of stakeholder involvement – the normative idea thatstakeholder management should strive for maximum stakeholder involvement.The study is carried out using a case study, o2, an important actor in the wind power industryin Sweden. Five stakeholder groups are included in the study, customers, capital providers, inthe form of a major bank and a private equity company, NGO’s and lastly regulators.The study contributes directly to the stakeholder management practices in the wind powerindustry by giving guidance on how to prioritize among different stakeholder groups as wellas to the untested theory of stakeholder involvement by applying the theory to a real casestudy.The result of the study suggests that stakeholders value environmentally related CSR issuesmore than socially related CSR issues. In particular the issues of emissions and flora & faunaare classified as the most important CSR issues for the wind power industry to manage.Furthermore, the theory of stakeholder involvement is shown to be misleading for thestakeholders closest to the company, the once with a direct contractual stake (customers andcapital providers). However, it is shown to be directly applicable, and useful, to thestakeholders more external to the company (NGO’s and regulators).

This Master’s Degree project has been performed on behalf of Vanuatu Renewable Energy and Power Association. The purpose of the project was to suggest the design of stand-alone renewable power supply systems on Futuna Island in the Republic of Vanuatu. Futuna is the easternmost island in Vanuatu with a population of about 400 people. The island covers an area of just 13 km2. The proposed sites for power production were the villages of Mission Bay, Matangi, Herald Bay and Iahsoa. In Mission Bay and Matangi the power should be produced by wind turbines and in Herald Bay and Iahsoa, solar modules are proposed. The results of the study showed that some parts of Futuna Island can be suitable for wind power production and wind speeds in the order of 5-7 m/s are suggested. However, wind monitoring on the sites are required to estimate the exact potential. Furthermore, the study showed that there is less uncertainty involved with estimating the power output from the solar modules. In addition, solar power proved to be more reliable and less vulnerable to local variations in weather and topography. Solar modules are therefore considered more appropriate for small scale power production on the island, at least until the wind climate is better known. The results of the study also showed that proper sizing of battery banks and cables are essential to increase the efficiency and lifetime of the systems. If there are insufficient financial resources in the project, it is therefore recommended in the report to use all resources available to properly size the systems in 1-2 villages rather than to inadequately size the systems in all the villages. / Ögruppen Vanuatu är en självständig nation som består av mer än 83 bebodda öar av varierande storlek. Landet ligger mellan Fiji och Australien i Stilla havet och tillhör enligt FN världens fattigaste länder. Av landets befolkning på ungefär 200 000 människor är minst 80 procent självförsörjande bönder. Förutom på några av de större öarna där man byggt ut elnät till viss del finns det i princip ingen produktion av elektrisk energi i landet. Undantaget är några enstaka dieselaggregatsystem och solcellssystem som installerats med hjälp av privata medel och bistånd. Dock är många av dessa mikrosystem beroende av fossilt bränsle som måste importeras och därför är både dyrt och ofta en bristvara då transporten mellan öarna kan vara oberäknelig. Öarnas geografiska isolation och bristen på infrastruktur hindrar utvecklingen av storskalig energiproduktion i landet. För att förbättra denna situation initierade frivilligorganisationen Vanuatu Renewable Energy and Power Association (VANREPA) år 2005 ett projekt med syftet att producera elektrisk energi på öarna Futuna och Aneityum med hjälp av förnybara energikällor. Landet har gott om förnybara energiresurser i form av hög solinstrålning, passadvindar, biobränslen och höga vulkanberg som även möjliggör produktion av vattenkraft. Landet har därför potential att producera relativt billig och miljövänlig energi med hjälp av lokala resurser. Projektet leds av VANREPA’s grundare David Stein, ursprungligen från USA, och finansieras med hjälp av bidrag från EU. Det här examensarbetet har utförts i samarbete med VANREPA, och med David Stein som handledare. Ämnesgranskare på Uppsala universitet har varit Marcus Berg och examinator har varit Kjell Pernestål. Examensarbetet har även utförts som en Minor Field Study i samarbete med Arbetsgruppen för tropisk ekologi (ATE) på Uppsala universitet och med stipendium från Styrelsen för internationellt utvecklingssamarbete (Sida). I tillägg har examensarbetet finansierats med hjälp av ett resestipendium ur Jacob A. Letterstedts resestipendiefond som förvaltas av Kungl. Vetenskapsakademien (KVA). Syftet med examensarbetet har varit att föreslå lämplig design av de fyra förnybara kraftproduktionssystem som planeras i byarna Mission Bay, Matangi, Herald Bay och Iahsoa på Futuna. Den totala befolkningen på ön består av ungefär 400 människor. Det var önskvärt att kraftproduktionssystemen utformades så enkelt som möjligt. Detta för att underlätta att drift och underhåll ska kunna skötas av den lokala befolkningen på ön men även för att minimera projektets kostnader. Eftersom både efterfrågan och produktion av energi kommer att vara relativt låga var det även önskvärt att minimera alla förluster så mycket som möjligt. Dessutom var det önskvärt att systemen designades med möjlighet för expansion då detta endast anses vara ett första steg i att försörja Futuna med elektrisk energi. Komponenter som inkluderades i designen var vindturbiner, solpaneler, batterier och kablar. Ett antal givna förutsättningar begränsade utförandet av examensarbetet. Dels var vindturbinerna och solpanelerna redan införskaffade vid den tidpunkt då författaren påbörjade examensarbetet. Detta innebar att det inte fanns möjlighet att påverka vare sig val av produktionsmetod eller antal produktionsenheter. Dessutom hade byggnaderna för batteribankerna i de fyra byarna redan byggts. Eftersom det var viktigt att hålla förlusterna och kostnaderna på en minimal nivå kunde därför inte heller placeringen av solpanelerna eller vindturbinerna påverkas, då dessa måste placeras så nära batteribankerna och konsumenterna som möjligt. Utförandet av examensarbetet delades in i tre delar. I den första delen gjordes förberedande litteraturstudier i Sverige om småskaliga energisystem i allmänhet och förutsättningarna i Vanuatu i synnerhet. I den andra delen utfördes under sex veckor fältstudier på plats i Vanuatu. Under denna period genomfördes bland annat en fältresa till Futuna, där de fyra platserna föreslagna för kraftproduktion besöktes. Under fältresan samlades relevanta data in, såsom koordinater för platserna i behov av elektrisk energi och topografiska förutsättningarna för sol- och vindkraft på de fyra platserna. Dessutom intervjuades representanter för de fyra byarna för att kartlägga var och till vad elektrisk energi var önskvärd. Under den sista delen av examensarbetet analyserades materialet som samlats in under fältstudierna tillsammans med ämnesgranskaren på Uppsala universitet. Den förväntade kraftproduktionen från solpanelen och vindturbinerna uppskattades med hjälp av data från NASA, då inga vind- eller solmätningar gjorts på plats per idag. På grund av den stora osäkerheten med att använda dessa data är den beräknade kraftproduktionen inte lika exakt som den annars kunnat vara. När den förväntade kraftproduktionen uppskattats beräknades den nödvändiga storleken på batteribankar och kablar. För att inte underdimensionera systemen inkluderades ett visst antal dagar som batteribanken skulle kunna försörja den givna lasten med elektrisk energi om vind eller sol skulle utebli. Dessutom dimensionerades batteribankerna för ett maximalt urladdningsdjup, detta för att förlänga batteriernas liv. Kablarna dimensionerades för att minimera spänningsfall och i gränsfall valdes därför alltid den större kabelstorleken. Både batteribankarna och kablarna dimensionerades även med hänsyn till övriga förluster i systemet. Studien visade att vissa områden på Futuna kan vara lämpade för vindkraftsproduktion. Dock krävs vindmätningar på plats för att kunna uppskatta den exakta potentialen. Osäkerheten med kraftproduktion från solceller är mindre än för vindturbiner. Denna energikälla är också mindre känslig för lokala variationer och kräver mindre kunskap hos lokalbefolkningen för drift och underhåll. Solenergi anses därför vara en bättre lämpad energikälla för småskalig kraftproduktion på ön, åtminstone tills man fått en bättre uppfattning om det rådande vindklimatet. Kostnaden för batterier är en känslig del av energisystemen som tyvärr inte går att komma undan, då kraftproduktionen är för instabil för att försörja lasten direkt. Det är mycket viktigt att batteribankernas kapacitet dimensioneras korrekt, för att undvika kortlivade system. Underdimensionerade batteribanker leder även till mindre effektiva system då en mindre andel av den producerade energin kan användas. Detsamma gäller för dimensioneringen av kablar, eftersom för högt spänningsfall kan leda till att den producerade energin inte når fram till konsumenten. Om tillräckliga finansiella resurser saknas för att slutföra projektet är det därför rekommenderat att snarare satsa på korrekt dimensionerade system i 1-2 byar än ofullständigt dimensionerade system i alla fyra byarna.

La forte variabilité de la vitesse du vent fait que l'énergie produite par un parc éolien n'est pas constante dans le temps. Le gestionnaire ne peut donc pas dimensionner son réseau électrique en prenant intégralement ce type de production en compte. L' une des solutions préconisées pour permettre le développement de l' éolien et son intégration avec une plus grande sureté aux réseaux, est de développer et d'améliorer les outils de prévisions. Le travail de thèse consiste à améliorer les performances d'un outil de prédiction basé sur les réseaux de neurones bayesiens, permettant la prédiction de la puissance à très court terme . Le prédicteur fonctionne notamment par J'ajustement de paramètres, certain se détermine « automatiquement » via le mécanisme des réseaux de neurones bayesiens d' autres, que nous nommerons paramètres temporels, sont à l' appréciation de l'utilisateur. Le travail mené consiste à établir un protocole pour la fixation de ces paramètres tout en améliorant les performances du prédicteur . Nous avons donc décidé de conditionner leurs valeurs en fonction de la variabilité des séquences de puissance précédent l'instant de prévision. Tout d'abord nous avons classifié des séquences de puissance en fonction de leurs coefficients de variation en appliquant la méthode des C-moyennes floues. Puis, chaque classe formée a été testée sur plusieurs valeurs de paramètres, les valeurs associées aux meilleures prédictions ont été retenues. Enfin, ces résultats couplés au formalisme des Chaines de Markov, par le biais de la matrice de transition , ont perm is d'obtenir des taux d'amélioration par rapport à la persistance allant de 7,73 à 23,22 % selon l'horizon de prédiction considéré / The high variability of the wind speed has for conse quences that the energy produced by a wind farm is not constant over time. Therefore, the manager can't size the electrical network by takin g into account this type of production. One solution advocated for the development of wind energy and its integrati on with greater security at network, is to develop and improve fore casting tools. The thesi s objective is to improve the performance of a predi ction tool based on Bayesian neural networks, allowing the predi ction of wind power for short timescales. The predictor works, in part icular by the adjustment of parameters, sorne is determined "automatically" through the mechan ism of neural networks Bayesian other , which we cali temporal parameters are at the discretion of the user. The work involves establishing a protocol for the determination of these parameters and improving the performance of the predictor. So, we decided to condition their values depending on the sequence variability of wind power previous the moment of the forecast. First we classified sequences of power according to their coefficients of variation using the method of fuzzy C-means. Then, each formed class was tested for several parameters values, the values associated with the best predictions were selected. Finally , these result s coupled with the formalism of Markov chains , through the transition matrix allowed to obtain rates of improvement over the persistence ranging from 7.73 to 23.22 % depending on the prediction horizon considered

No description available.

There is a growth of wind power development in icing climates, in which ice accumulation on objects takes place. This leads to specific challenges including ice throw, the detachment of ice from wind turbine blades. The lack of understanding of the ice throw phenomenon among authorities leads to the fact that there is no coherence in the applied ice throw mitigation policies in various countries and regions, which can cause safety- and financial hazards for wind farms in icing climates. This research focusses on ice throw risk mitigation methods and their effect on a wind farms yield. Qualitative research is applied, interviewing six experts in the field of cold climate wind power development. The participants are from academic, public and private research institutions in five countries. The qualitative research focusses on policies that are plausible but non-preferred, as well as preference suggestions from the experts on how to treat the ice throw risks. The non-preferred policies involve shutting down wind farms during icing periods and conditionally allowed operation with applied heating systems. These policy scenarios are applied to a virtual wind farm near Slagnäs, Sweden, in order to indicate the impact on the yield and underline the impact that these policies would have on the turnover of a wind farm in a sever icing climate. The non-preferred policies have a significant impact on the Slagnäs wind farms yield with 2,28% annual yield losses in case of 200 annual icing hours. Apart from the impact on yield, the policies might not reduce the danger of ice throw significantly, as from a standing still turbine, detached ice can still travel a horizontal distance of up to one time the turbine height. Therefore, policies should according to the interviewed experts not focus on limitations, however focus on understanding risks and taking appropriate action for risk mitigation. International guidelines are the best tool to create a deeper understanding of ice throw risk assessments and their limitations, as well as an understanding of risk mitigation methods. In this case, the risk assessment process shall be standardised, however the risk mitigation methods shall be site specific.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The Smart Renewable Energy project at the University of The Western Cape, under the guidance of the Intelligent Systems and Advanced Telecommunication (ISAT) group, aims at developing a dynamic system that enables users to (1) design smart architectures for next generation wind and solar systems to meet African power challenges (2) use these architectures to dimension the underlying solar and wind power systems and (3) simulate, implement and evaluate the performance of such power systems. The project's existing web and mobile monitoring system will undergo a much needed upgrade to cater for monitoring of the existing system's environmental and battery bank parameters. This will be implemented by allowing users to monitor input, storage and output trends over various time frames. These time frames would include hourly, daily, weekly and monthly readings. The visual evaluation of the system will be generated by mathematical, statistical and machine learning techniques. Trends will be discovered that will allow users to optimize the system's efficiency and their usage patterns. The accompanied dimensioning system will allow users to cater for their needs in a two way fashion. Users will be able to specify the number of devices that they want to run from a solar or wind based system and their power needs will be generated. They will also be able to determine what a given system is capable of producing and the number of devices that can be used simultaneously, as a result. / National Research Foundation (NRF) and Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF)

Renewable energy has become an important feature of most modern economies with clean and non-exhaustible sources of power being given a greater significance. Wind energy is one of the favoured renewable, as it is (2013) generally the cheapest and most mature technology available for commercial use. The South African government, as outlined by the Department of Energy's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), aims to install 5 GW (Gigawatts) of wind energy by 2020. However, South Africa has had little experience in the wind energy industry which is limited to two projects, Klipheuwel (2002) and Darling (2008). Much effort has been dedicated to calculating balance sheet costs, which carries uncertainty due to the high reliance on country specific and site specific variables. An aspect which deserves more attention, and is often ignored, is the public‟s attitudes towards local wind farm developments, which have been known to "make or break" a project during the planning stages. Public backlashes have mostly been concerned with the visual "intrusiveness" of wind farms in the landscape. Detrimental effects on scenery, while seemingly innocuous, are acknowledged as being the single largest barrier to successful wind farm development. Individuals within an area become sentimentally attached to their surroundings, where significant rapid changes in the landscape are viewed as "damage". Economics recognises such declines in scenic resources as market failures, where an externalised cost is passed on to the public and is often not accounted for by private parties responsible for the liability. The primary objective therefore was to measure the magnitude of the visual impact, caused by the Waainek Wind Farm, on the Grahamstown community. Conventional NIMBY¹ (not in my back yard) reasoning, which seeks to explain local wind farm resistance, has attracted criticism with regard to its simplistic approach to wind farm problem identification. Contemporary arguments propose that NIMBY is a poor explanation for the trouble experienced on the local level because it groups problems into one all-encompassing term, leaving much of the discontent unexplained. Instead, the NIMBY explanation is really a broad set of unattended problems, largely resulting from the unsound practices present in the public participation process. Insufficient community involvement and disparities in the negotiation power structures have become the recent focus in wind farm literature. Essentially, these disparities force opposition groups to select factors which may seem more serious to developers, leading to ineffective remedial measures because the core underlying problems are not being remedied. Thus these considerations formed an additional area of investigation. No NIMBY effect was found for the Grahamstown community, as support for both the local and general level was roughly 80%. The public participation process on the other hand revealed that while many found the practices of the developer to be unfair, attitudes towards the wind farm were not adversely affected, especially for the lower income Grahamstown East areas. While the public participation process in this instance did not have any effect on people’s attitudes, careful inspection of the circumstances need to be given. Wind farms are new to South Africa, where the novelty and benefits are the focus of enthusiasm. Job opportunities as well as clean energy are positive drivers for attitudes; however given time, once the anticipation for wind farms dulls, real problems may be revealed. Thus it is crucial to implement good practice procedures during the public participation process, especially when national adoption rates of wind energy are low. Early implementation of an effective public participation process system will ensure that when major problems do arise in future projects, experience and institutional processes would have had ample opportunity to evolve appropriately over a period of time. The double bounded Contingent Valuation Method was used to value the impact of the wind farm on the Waainek scenery through a hypothetical scenario based procedure which presented pictures of the landscape before and after the wind farm had been installed. Based on the perceived impact of the wind farm, respondents were asked their Willingness to Pay to relocate the development, based solely on visual impacts. Learning design Contingent Valuation (Bateman et al., 2008) is a novel technique employed to familiarize respondents with the hypothetical market institution as well as the scenic goods being valued. Average Willingness to Pay was found to be R67 per month, with a final total monthly negative visual impact of R104,000 to R121,000 per month for the entire Grahamstown community. Grahamstown Central (middle-high income) residents were more likely to pay than Grahamstown East (low-middle income) East residents because of socio-economic differences present in each area. A ranking exercise determined that while negative visual impacts are present, the overall benefits derived from the wind farm are potentially much higher. Additionally, positive scenic improvements were found, but were not measured due to time constraints, and would have worked to reduce the net visual impact of the Waainek Wind Farm. ¹Problem where individuals support the general concept of wind power, but when it comes to local implementation, opposition to the development arises within the same group.

The typical methodology for analytically designing a wind turbine blade is by means of blade element momentum (BEM) theory, whereby the aerofoil angle of attack is optimized to achieve a maximum lift-to-drag ratio. This research aims to show that an alternative optimisation methodology could yield better results, especially in gusty and turbulent wind conditions. This alternative method looks at increasing the aerofoil Reynolds number by increasing the aerofoil chord length. The increased Reynolds number generally increases the e_ectiveness of the aerofoil which would result in a higher or similar lift-to-drag ratio (even at the decreased angle of attacked require to maintain the turbine thrust coe_cient). The bene_t of this design is a atter power curve which causes the turbine to be less sensitive to uctuating winds. Also, the turbine has more torque at startup, allowing for operatation in lower wind speeds. This research is assumed to only be applicable to small wind turbines which operated in a low Reynolds number regime (<500 000), where Reynolds number manipulation is most advantageous.