Design limits and solutions for very large wind turbines

In addition to defining a clear way forward for wind
energy technology, UpWind had the responsibility of
accelerating innovation within the sector. This required
strong involvement from the private sector. The involvement
in UpWind of leading wind turbine and component
manufacturers, as well as software providers, technical
consultants and energy companies, demonstrated
the sector‘s high level of maturity. Handling Intellectual
Property within large EU-funded projects was secured
by IP agreements and was dealt with inside the WP
concerned. This proved to be a very effective model.
The strategy followed by UpWind was to focus on innovation
with a long-term aim: exploring the design limits of
very large-scale wind turbines, in the 10-20 MW range.
UpWind used upscaling as a driver for innovation, and
moved away from the competitive arena. Along the way,
the challenges dealt with in UpWind became a reality,
with the demonstration of 5 MW turbines, the current
testing of 7 MW machines, and the development of
10 MW designs. The innovation developed within the
project helped solve day-to-day challenges, such as
was the case in the fi eld of WP1B.2 Transmission and
Conversion. UpWind had an international impact,
through the IEA Wind Implementing agreement, where
the UpWind results are included in several international
task activities. Partnerships, especially in the fi eld
of material research (WP3), were developed with India,
Ukraine and China.
In terms of project financing, UpWind shows the way
forward for public-private partnership instruments.
The scale of today‘s challenges, and the scarcity of
resources require developing innovative funding instruments
able to create a leverage effect. Those should
combine funding from the Framework Programmes,
other Community programmes and Member States,
private capital, and European Investment Bank instruments.
The future FP8 instruments are likely to be fl exible,
with less red tape, and their structure is likely
to be shaped by the time-to-market of innovation, and
able to combine those various sources of funding in
a coordinated manner. Although UpWind was financed
under the FP6, some specifi c WP activities were
co-financed by Member State programmes beyond the
financial scope of UpWind. One outstanding example is
the development of LIDAR remote sensing techniques
(WP6). This made UpWind the first project within the
European Wind Initiative priorities that complemented
support from the Framework Programmes with coordinated
calls for proposals from committed countries.
Within EWI, UpWind is used as a reference case for
such instruments.
Design limits and solutions for very large wind turbines
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