Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case study

Abstract Offshore wind power projects are currently booming around the North Sea. However, there are inherent correlation challenges between wind farms in this area, which has implications for the optimal composition of locations and the scale-up of installed capacities. This paper is aimed at addre...

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Main Authors: Martin Hjelmeland, Jonas Kristiansen Nøland
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-10-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45829-2
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author Martin Hjelmeland
Jonas Kristiansen Nøland
author_facet Martin Hjelmeland
Jonas Kristiansen Nøland
author_sort Martin Hjelmeland
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Offshore wind power projects are currently booming around the North Sea. However, there are inherent correlation challenges between wind farms in this area, which has implications for the optimal composition of locations and the scale-up of installed capacities. This paper is aimed at addressing the correlation problem by minimizing the variance of total wind power accumulated around the North Sea. We show that this nonlinear convex optimization problem can be solved by applying the Augmented Lagrangian Algorithm (ALA). The premise of the study is that more interconnections between the EU countries will be prioritized in order to optimize and smooth out the wind power production patterns. A publicly available dataset with historical hour-by-hour data spanning over 20 years was used for the analysis. We explore two distinct scenarios for Norwegian offshore wind development. In the first scenario, we consider the ongoing activities on the European continental side of the North Sea and their implications for Norway. Here, we illustrate the advantages of focusing on expanding wind power capacity in the northern regions of Norway to enhance the overall value of the generated wind power. In contrast, the second reference scenario neglects these interconnections, resulting in a significantly greater concentration of offshore wind development in the southern parts of Norway, particularly in Sørlige Nordsjø II. Additionally, our work estimates the wind power correlation coefficient in the North Sea as a function of distance. Furthermore, we analyze deviations and intermittencies in North Sea wind power over various time intervals, emphasizing that the perceived integration challenges are highly dependent on the chosen time resolution in the analysis.
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spelling doaj.art-dd24caca426d407cb8400987de83982d2023-11-05T12:17:02ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-10-0113111710.1038/s41598-023-45829-2Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case studyMartin Hjelmeland0Jonas Kristiansen Nøland1UnaffiliatedDepartment of Electric Energy, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)Abstract Offshore wind power projects are currently booming around the North Sea. However, there are inherent correlation challenges between wind farms in this area, which has implications for the optimal composition of locations and the scale-up of installed capacities. This paper is aimed at addressing the correlation problem by minimizing the variance of total wind power accumulated around the North Sea. We show that this nonlinear convex optimization problem can be solved by applying the Augmented Lagrangian Algorithm (ALA). The premise of the study is that more interconnections between the EU countries will be prioritized in order to optimize and smooth out the wind power production patterns. A publicly available dataset with historical hour-by-hour data spanning over 20 years was used for the analysis. We explore two distinct scenarios for Norwegian offshore wind development. In the first scenario, we consider the ongoing activities on the European continental side of the North Sea and their implications for Norway. Here, we illustrate the advantages of focusing on expanding wind power capacity in the northern regions of Norway to enhance the overall value of the generated wind power. In contrast, the second reference scenario neglects these interconnections, resulting in a significantly greater concentration of offshore wind development in the southern parts of Norway, particularly in Sørlige Nordsjø II. Additionally, our work estimates the wind power correlation coefficient in the North Sea as a function of distance. Furthermore, we analyze deviations and intermittencies in North Sea wind power over various time intervals, emphasizing that the perceived integration challenges are highly dependent on the chosen time resolution in the analysis.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45829-2
spellingShingle Martin Hjelmeland
Jonas Kristiansen Nøland
Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case study
Scientific Reports
title Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case study
title_full Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case study
title_fullStr Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case study
title_full_unstemmed Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case study
title_short Correlation challenges for North Sea offshore wind power: a Norwegian case study
title_sort correlation challenges for north sea offshore wind power a norwegian case study
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45829-2
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