Figure 6: Emissions Reductions Per MW Wind Energy Produced Wind’s Up! Abstract: Although offshore wind is a viable means to help meet renewable energy production goals, there are many hurdles to overcome before the construction of a large offshore wind project is approved. Uncertainties surround the costs of offshore power systems, the actual production a wind farm will have, and the ecological impacts from installation and life cycle processes. Until now, no user-controlled GUI model has existed that provides financial and environmental analyses of offshore wind farms in an educational manner. “Wind’s Up” is a computer application that simulates the life cycle of a user specified wind farm located on the New Jersey continental shelf. This model provides a stable basis for educating users on the benefits of wind farms. Users will select wind farm location, turbine specifications and desired energy production. The model will provide construction and life cycle analysis. The application includes data from specific wind turbines, various offshore locations, government policies, and environmental studies. The negative opinions on wind farms held by many environmentalists and coastal communities often overshadow the financial and environmental benefits associated with offshore wind. Through the thorough financial and environmental analysis performed by this model, the user can easily understand these benefits. The application is scalable to other areas with offshore wind potential and the results of the various scenarios performed through this application not only serve as an educational tool for the public, but allow for a comprehensive evaluation of the future energy portfolio of New Jersey. TEAM #16 Advisors Dr. Peter Scott Walt Sobkiw DEMO TIMES: Thursday, April 21 st, :30AM, 1:30PM, 2:00, 2:30 Goals To develop a Visual Basic application that communicates with Excel and performs a life cycle simulation of a user specified wind farm. To provide substantial background to users, of all educational backgrounds, on the need for and operation of wind farms. Requirements The GUI must accept inputs for a desired location along the New Jersey coastline. Additionally, it must prompt the user with different turbines choices. Finally, the application must accept a user specified farm capacity ranging between MW. Environmental Sensitivity In order to consciously mitigate environmental concerns surrounding the placement of offshore wind farms, developers need to evaluate the ecological impact potential wind farms may have on specific areas. Figure 3 shows the partitions of the narrowed down study area. Shaded offshore locations are excluded from Wind’s up. Using existing environmental sensitivity data on the area of study, simulated wind farms will have minimal impact on marine life, commercial industry, and existing infrastructure. Map 1 eliminates areas of high avian density. Map 2 eliminates areas of high mammal density and migration patterns. Map 3 adds fish and sea turtle habitat restriction. Map 4 eliminates legal restrictions and shipping lanes. Turbines Three turbine models of various capacities have been selected for this simulation. Material costs for offshore wind farms vary by farm size, so these selections are sufficient to represent all available turbine models. Average New Jersey offshore wind speeds range between 7-9 MPH, so the turbines will not produce their full energy capacity, but rather their projected power for the given wind speed. As seen in figure 3, there is a limited wind speed range in which turbines will produce energy. Results The results of this simulation educate the user on the financial feasibility of offshore wind in New Jersey as well as the environmental benefits associated with it. Financial results, such as a cost breakdown of the capital investment (figure 5) provide the user with an understanding of why the investment’s IRR is attractive or not. Dr. Willett Kempton, Professor at the University of Delaware for his help with turbine selection and data relating to specific turbines. Mr. Larry Kahrs, P.E., of Tetra Tec EC for providing detailed insight on offshore wind farm installation procedures and costs. Verification This model has been tested under various scenarios, to validate emergent properties of offshore wind farms. Given proper wind conditions, it is an industry belief that a wind farm with a smaller number of larger capacity turbines will have a higher IRR than a wind farm with a larger number of smaller turbines. Our model validates this assumption as is pertains to New Jersey offshore wind. System Characteristics As the user makes decisions regarding the wind farm, these variables are passed to the data source that is located within Microsoft Excel. The declaration of these three variables, which are initially null within the data source, triggers the rest of the data to be calculated. Figure 1 shows the basic interaction between the two elements of this application. All calculations occur within the data source and the most relevant results are returned to the GUI for the user to see. After all interactions between the GUI and Excel are complete, the user is presented with the option to view more detailed financial and environmental information about the simulation. Figure 3: Wind Turbine Power Curve Acknowledgements Authors: Michael Harker SSE ’11 Lorna N’geno EE ’11 William Safrin SSE ‘11 Figure 4: Feasible Areas for Offshore Development Figure 1: Software Functionality Figure 2: Block Diagram –System Calculation Example Figure 2 Shows an example calculation that is performed within our system. This particular example uses the user inputs to calculate the duration of the construction process, which leads to other financial and environmental considerations. Figure 5: Installation Cost Breakdown The presentation of environmental benefits of offshore wind, such as emissions reductions compared to fossil fuels (figure 6), allow the user to see the direct affect their specified farm will have on local and national pollution.