go to top scroll for more

Helm Wind: Final Feasibility Study - One Page Summary


Citation ETI Helm Wind: Final Feasibility Study - One Page Summary, ETI, 2011. https://doi.org/10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000583.
Cite this using DataCite
Author(s) ETI
Project partner(s) ETI
Publisher ETI
DOI https://doi.org/10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000583
Download WIN_WI1002_1.pdf document type
Abstract Offshore Wind has huge potential to reduce carbon emissions and create economic prosperity, as well as increasing energy security of supply. For this potential to be unlocked, significant challenges that need to be overcome:
  1. Electricity costs need to be competitive with current (2010) onshore wind costs by 2020 and with conventional generation by 2050,
  2. Increased yields: annual offshore farm availability to be increased to 97%-98% or better,
  3. Reduce technical uncertainties to allow farms to be financed in a manner, and at costs, equivalent to onshore wind today.
Helm Wind was one of three ETI Offshore Wind projects looking at new turbine design concepts, which were commissioned in support of the aims outlined above. The other two were NOVA and Deep Water. The focus of all projects was on enabling technologies that wouldhave a significant impact on offshorewind cost of energy from 2020 onwards

The Helm Wind project carried out an unconstrained investigation into the concepts and technologies required to deliver significant cost of energy reductions for offshore wind. This included rotor diameter, geometry and speed,number of blades, upwind and downwind orientations, drivetrain options and support structures. Led by E.ON, the consortium also included BP, Rolls-Royce and the University of Strathclyde.

Key findings:
  • The consortium indentified that sufficient improvements could be made through technology innovation to deliver energy costs that are comparable with current (2010) onshore wind costs: one of ETI’s objectives for this programme.
  • This involves innovation in rotor aerodynamics, rotor diameter, drive train technologies and electrical systems.
  • The consortium also indentified that theoptimum turbine size for offshore is significantly larger than the current ‘state of the art’.
Associated Project(s) ETI-WI1002: Helm Wind
Associated Dataset(s) No associated datasets
Associated Publication(s)