Offshore wind energy, wind farm design and technical-economic evaluation

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  • Author
    Dr. Michela Conti
  • Level
    Advanced
  • Study time
    ~ 22 minutes
  • Videos
    1
  • Contact
    michela.conti@uniroma1.it

Module Description

Offshore wind energy offers strong potential for expanding renewable energy production due to higher wind speeds at sea, but it also involves challenges such as bathymetry constraints, turbine wake effects, visual impact on coastal areas, and high infrastructure and maintenance costs.
The module focuses on optimizing offshore wind farm design by improving turbine layout to maximize energy production while minimizing costs and visual intrusion. It adopts a multi-objective optimization approach based on two key metrics: Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and visual impact.
Energy production is evaluated using the FLORIS model, which accounts for wake interactions, while visual impact is measured through specific coastal viewpoint metrics. The optimization is performed using the PyMoo library with the NSGA-II genetic algorithm, enabling analysis of trade-offs between economic efficiency and societal acceptance.
Overall, the work proposes an integrated framework that balances technical, economic, and social factors for more sustainable offshore wind development

 Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze the trade-offs between maximizing energy production and minimizing visual impacts
created by

Dr. Michela Conti

Michela Conti is a second-year Ph.D. student at Sapienza University of Rome, in the department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering. Her research focuses on offshore wind energy and its integration with other technologies, such as electrolyzers for green hydrogen production. Michela is developing models to optimize the layout of offshore wind farms and the sizing and placement of electrolyzers to achieve efficient energy utilization. Her work includes studying hybrid systems involving wind power, electrolyzers, and batteries, aiming to design strategies that maximize hydrogen production while ensuring battery preservation. Future interests include expanding her research to encompass additional applications, such as high-pressure desalination systems powered by offshore wind energy.