DNV publishes world’s first recommended practice to reduce earthquake challenges for wind power plants
DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, has published the world’s first recommended practice (RP) to minimize cost, warranty and liability risks and optimize wind power plant design for seismic conditions in emerging wind power markets such as Asia Pacific and the US, according to the company's release.
As wind power grows in the above markets there’s an increasing need to ensure the design of wind turbines and other assets of a wind power plant such as the offshore substation can meet the challenging conditions seen in those regions. Guidance and industry consensus was needed to ensure that wind power development continues to build momentum while maintaining high safety standards and minimizing costs.
The Recommended Practice DNV-RP-0585 “Seismic design of wind power plants” is a result of a truly global collaborative effort, which saw more than 20 wind industry leaders, including OEMs, project developers, designers, and experts from Asia Pacific, Europe and North America respond to a joint industry project (JIP). After only 18 months of work the ACE (Alleviating Cyclone and Earthquake Challenges for Wind farms) JIP, has been able to gather enough experiences from cross-industry players to align wind turbine design methodologies for those extreme environmental conditions.
This Recommended Practice can now be used as a technical reference for seismic design as part of the contract between industry stakeholders. It can serve to link existing local requirements for seismic design of common buildings to international wind energy design practice and facilitate the designer’s work. This will help accelerate discussions and project decisions.
