bok%3A978-3-658-02462-8.pdf?auth66=1398409209_a0514c2b8e531c058ab8b810a0cad74d&ext=

Literature29 4optimisation of wind energy turbines, innovativecontrol techniques and improvements to foundationstructures have been a key research focus. Asecond focus is ecological and environmental research.RAVE projects are clustered around fivethemes: Foundation and support structures, turbinetechnology and monitoring, environment(including health and safety), grid integration, andcross-sectional projects. . Figure 4.2 gives a briefoverview of the RAVE research projects and thecoordinating institutions for the joint projects (notall project leaders are mentioned). Environmentalresearch accounts for the second largest number ofprojects, thus highlighting the significance of thisresearch area.4.5 Achievementshave collaborated closely now for over six years, assistingone another in various tasks. By continuingthis close collaboration between the participatingcompanies and research organisations, especiallywhen it comes to measuring activities and datamanagement, the RAVE success story will go on.LiteratureFederal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation andNuclear Safety (BMU) (2002). Strategy of the German Governmenton the use of offshore wind energy in the contextof its national sustainability strategy.Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation andNuclear Safety (BMU) (2006). Gemeinsame Erklärung zurErrichtung des Offshore-Testfeldes und zur Initialzündungfür die deutsche Offshore-Windenergieentwicklung.Summarising the initiative’s achievements, it canbe said that RAVE has been extremely successful.alpha ventus delivered outstanding productionand availability figures in its first years of operation:267 GWh of electricity was fed into the grid,both in 2011 and 2012, corresponding to 4,463 fullload hours. A a new class of turbines was used todemonstrate reliable operation under extreme offshoreconditions: In 2011, turbine availability wasup to 97 %. The largest and most comprehensivemeasurement programme at an offshore windfarmworldwide has delivered unprecedented industrialscalein-situ data for use in model development andvalidation. RAVE research projects have deliveredsignificant results based on that data. To date,about 500 scientific papers, posters and talks haveresulted from such projects. Information aboutthe individual projects is available together withresearch results and references on the RAVE portal,▶ www.rave-offshore.de. A RAVE science documentarycan be viewed at ▶ www.youtube.com/user/RAVEoffshore/feed. Also, over 300 conferencedelegates attended the RAVE International Conference2012, making the conference a huge success(▶ www.rave2012.de).An extraordinary result of RAVE is that it hasgiven rise to a dedicated community that is now capableof supporting the offshore wind industry intackling the challenges ahead. The RAVE partners