Windstore
In April 2019 the project “WINDS-STORE began. DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEM OF GENERATION OF ITS WIND ENERGY WITH STORAGE CAPACITY FOR ITS APPLICATION IN OFFSHORE INFRASTRUCTURES” was started by a group of companies and entities from Comunidad Valenciana, led by Rover Maritime, thanks to the financing of the Agencia Valenciana de Innovación within of the Strategic Projects in Cooperation Programme. The project will end in March 2021 and has a total execution budget of around € 700,000.
Design and development of a concrete infrastructure for offshore wind turbines that includes a storage system based on compressed air to maintain a constant contribution to the general network in periods of wind shutdown.
Proposed innovations:
- SEABED STUDY. Measurement and analysis of bed and subsoil through the combination and integration of electrical tomography (ERT) and georadar.
- DESIGN OF CAISSON INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTEGRATION WITH THE COMPRESSED AIR TANK. Lightweight and high-performance infrastructure through the application of ultra-high-strength UHPC concrete.
- COMPRESSED AIR ENERGY SYSTEM. CAES system with compressed air tank. When the energy demand increases, the compressed air is released through a turbine that produces electricity.
- RESOLVE THE CHALLENGES OF THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN PORTS
Main results obtained during first year of the project, 2019, are the general design bases that were obtained for the design and construction of a wind farm in the Port of Valencia and the study about geophysical characterization of the selected scenario together with the analysis of the regulatory framework and of the requirements of the area.
Several solutions were proposed for the design of the maritime caisson, the ultra high resistance concrete-based compressed air tank and the rest of the auxiliary elements of the CAES system (compressed air energy system) and the transition piece between wind turbine tower and caisson.
In the case of the caisson, a foundation solution has been proposed consisting of remodeling a circular cell caisson, used in docks in the study area of Valencia Port, while in the year 2020 a new model square cell caisson is being developed considering the integration of the compressed air tank inside.
The project also adderesses a technical-economic feasibility study of the entire construction process of the new system although conclussion are not available yet.
