Wind Energy

Research

I have selected a number of generic research papers on the development of wind power in the UK for further background reading. These documents may assist us in gaining more knowledge on what could be involved with the Nocton Fen development, but first some details about construction.

Wind Turbine Construction in 100 Seconds

Wind Farm Construction
A website about wind farm construction: not only turbine erection but also balance of plant – access roads, crane pads, turbine foundations, power collection network, substation, meteorological mast and so on.
http://www.windfarmbop.com/

Design of Foundations for Wind Turbines
'Today, we build the most land-based wind turbines on strong and stiff soils, but probably in the future wind turbines will have to be built also on soils with less good properties. The ordinary and fairly simple foundation method with a concrete slab with large area, may be abandoned since it can give too large differential settlement. This thesis is examining the foundations for onshore wind turbines where both the more convential method with a large concrete slab are investigated, but also alternative foundation methods are studied, mainly piled foundations.'
[Dissertation by Henrik Svensson]

Pile Anchor Foundations
The P&H rock or pile anchor foundation is a proprietary (patent pending) foundation used to support large wind turbines.

Tensionless Pier Foundations
The P&H Tensionless Pier is a patented, proprietary foundation to support wind turbines on monopole towers. The foundation consists of a large diameter, cast-in-place annular pier (typically 14 to 16-feet in diameter and 25 to 35-feet deep).

Research Studies

Common concerns about wind power - May 2011
Evidence-based analysis that draws on peer-reviewed academic research and publicly funded studies to address issues such as bird-strike, shadow flicker, noise, impact on property prices and 'wind turbine syndrome'.
[Centre for Sustainable Energy]

The case for and against onshore wind energy in the UK - Policy Brief 2012
This policy brief aims to inform the debate about the role of onshore wind in the UK’s future energy mix. The paper investigates to what extent onshore wind can contribute to future electricity generation, whether there are technological constraints, what the economic costs are, and what the environmental impacts might be.
[Samuela Bassi, Alex Bowen and Sam Fankhauser]

Report on Health Impacts of Wind Turbines - 10th April 2013
This report presents the results of a rapid, desk based analysis of peer reviewed UK and international literature from the last four years on the effects of wind turbines on human health.
[Sabine von Hünerbein, Andy Moorhouse, Dani Fiumicelli, David Baguley]

UK Energy Research Landscape: Wind Energy - 27th March 2013
A summary of the UK wind energy research and development network.
[Dr Jim Halliday and Dr Alan Ruddell, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory]

http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/support/tiki-index.php

Research Academics

Professor Simon Watson BSc (ARCS PhD CPhys CSci MIEEE)

Simon Watson is a Professor of Wind Energy in CREST (the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology) and heads up the Wind and Water Power Research Team. His main research expertise is in the field of wind energy. Prof Watson is a member of the European Academy for Wind Energy and is a board member of the European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency (EUREC). He is also on the editorial panel for Wind Engineering. Prof Watson as been Head of the Energy Division, and is also the Programme Director for the European Masters in Renewable Energy.