Kinewell Energy recently demonstrated that its new software, KLOC, could have saved an operating offshore wind farm approximately $2.5 million had the technology been available when the wind farm was designed. The northeast England-based company launched the KLOC software in November 2015 following two years of research and development. The innovative software optimizes the geographical layout of offshore wind electrical cables that collect the energy before it is sent to shore.
The 576-MW Gwynt-y-Môr offshore wind farm was redesigned in a case study to indicate the vast savings that could be achieved. During the study, Kinewell Energy found that approximately $2.5 million, or 3 percent of the installed cable cost, could be saved by utilizing KLOC compared to traditional design techniques. The savings were realized by reducing the overall cable length by 1.7 km and through the reduction of electrical losses — some 1.2 GWh per year.
“We are very excited by the results of this case study,” said Andrew Jenkins, Kinewell Energy’s managing director. “It demonstrates the economic impact our innovative KLOC software will have on the U.K. energy market, which will ultimately lead to savings on household utility bills. If our technology is used for all future U.K. offshore wind farms, we would expect an extra 70 GWh of electrical energy to reach the U.K. each year. That would negate around 27,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually while powering around 16,000 homes — energy that would otherwise be wasted heating the sea.”
— Source: Kinewell Energy
For more information,
go to www.kinewell.co.uk.
