Assessment of low-fidelity models for control of floating offshore wind farms

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identifies floating offshore wind as a key technology in the transition to clean energy, looking to harness wind power over deep waters to power densely populated coastal regions. Doing so will require significant scientific and technological advancements, with the DOE targeting a 70% cost reduction (to $45 per megawatt-hour) by 2035. In support of this goal, Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) is leading an Energy Earthshot Research Center (EERC) called Addressing Challenges in Energy: Floating Wind in a Changing Climate (ACE-FWICC). One of its aims is to better understand the effect of met-ocean conditions on the performance of floating offshore wind farms (FOWFs), and to develop advanced models and controllers that account for those effects to achieve farm-level objectives (e.g., maximizing energy production). In this presentation, we share preliminary results from our assessment of low-fidelity models of FOWF dynamics; such models are necessary for rapid control design and real-time control. We focus on FOWFSimDyn, a nonlinear model that incorporates two-dimensional wake effects and floating platform dynamics, comparing its predictions with those of established tools like FLORIS and FAST.Farm.