Glasgow Caledonian University
(GCU) is a partner in a new research project to design a system which detects
and prevents high voltage insulation faults in subsea power cables for offshore
wind farms.
Funded by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) Offshore Wind
Component Technologies Development and Demonstration Scheme, GCU lecturer and
researcher Dr Alistair Reid will work with High Voltage Partial Discharge Ltd
(HVPD), Alstom
Grid, and the University of Strathclyde on the nine-month project. The
scheme supports projects which will work towards lowering the costs of
generating offshore wind energy.
Offshore wind has tremendous potential to reduce the UK’s reliance on
fossil fuels, help cut carbon and help meet the UK’s renewables
targets. Approximately 30% of the UK’s electricity is predicted to come from
renewable sources by 2020. DECC claims there is potential to drive down costs of offshore
wind by 25% by 2020 and 60% by 2050, but further investment is needed in this
area.
“If there is a cable fault, particularly subsea, it is extremely costly to
repair," said Dr Reid, a lecturer and researcher in electronic and electrical
engineering, with interests in diagnostic monitoring techniques and systems for
early warning of catastrophic events. "GCU’s labs can generate any form of
supply voltage. We will use these facilities to apply different types of voltage
stressing to cable insulation, interpret the signals and propose new solutions
to predicting failures before they occur."
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Source: Renewableenergyfocus.com
