Optimization Models in WindFarm Design: The case of a routing-location problem

Abstract

Wind energy can lead to a great socio-economic impact in Europe nowadays, while the installed capacity of wind power is estimated to be doubled by 2030.In order to generate power from the wind, a set of wind turbines is needed. A set of turbines is called a wind farm. The turbines of a wind farm are all connected via cables to the main power station. For an optimal design of wind farms, accurate models are needed. Computational models on wind farm design vary in the existing literature and they have been developed by engineers and scientists with different backgrounds in order to meet all requirements. This thesis investigates the contribution of Operations Research scientists to these mathematical models. More specifically, an Integer Linear Model from literature has been taken as a starting point. This model aims to minimize the cabling costs for offshore farms. In order to understand the existing model, the structure has been modified and more requirements are considered. Besides the objective to optimize the cable routing, a sub-problem arose to facilitate the model by relaxing a specific type of constraints (i.e. the planarity constraint). The addition of a node in the existing grid turns out to be beneficial for specific cases, taking into account the fixed costs arising from the installation and maintenance.