This document describes a new design for a telescopic offshore wind turbine that aims to reduce costs. It features a tower that can extend and retract, and a rotor that can tilt horizontally, allowing installation and maintenance to be done using smaller vessels. This innovative design lowers the turbine closer to the water's surface for easier access. The telescopic and tilting functions may enable using established offshore industry work procedures and equipment instead of specialized, expensive jackups or cranes. The design is currently in technology verification testing and seeking licensing partners.

1. TELESCOPIC OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE
Keywords: turbine, telescope tower, wind power, rotor tilt, cost effective installation and maintenance
Background
The European market for offshore wind is growing as European countries are trying to reach
their goal of 20% renewable energy mix by 2020. In order to reach this goal, wind turbine
concepts will have to decrease overall costs. This project proposes a new cost efficient design
of seabed fixed offshore windmills incorporating a telescopic tower and a rotor that can be
tilted in the horizontal position simplifying installation and maintenance costs.
Description
For fixed bottom mounted offshore wind concepts, state of the art is to use jackups or crane
vessels for assembly and installation operations. Sufficiently sized equipment that can operate
under most weather conditions needs to be chartered, increasing the cost of the wind park. In
case of undersized equipment, a considerable delay during the installation phase can be
expected. Even if the costs of the tower and the nacelle will slightly increased in case of our
invention, the total costs of fabrication, installation maintenance will be reduced. Reverse
installation of the tower will allow for the lowering of the rotor and the nacelle to a position
where smaller construction vessels can be used for heavy maintenance or repair of the wind
turbines.
Applications and benefits
In order to reduce installation an manufacturing costs we are developing an offshore windmill
incorporating with three innovative features; a U-shaped pontoon, a telescopic tower and a
rotor that can be tilted in horizontal position. Other than this, the product will use standard
parts as being used in today’s wind turbine designs. By using the telescope function the nacelle
and rotor can be lowered closer to the sea level, and by additionally tilting the rotor in the
horizontal position, the nacelle can be lowered even further. Our technology can be handled
by already established work procedures used by the offshore service industry and deploying
our system will lead to several benefits:
- Lower centre of gravity allows for
towing a relatively slender tower to the
installation area
- The turbine can be assembled using
onshore cranes in sheltered water
- Use of smaller cranes and
installation vessels will represent a
considerable cost saving element
Status
Technology verification, scaled testing
model for telescopic function analysis.
Figure Telescopic offshore wind turbine installation.
IPR
Patent granted (Norway), patent pending internationally
We are seeking licensing partners