Wind Turbine Drivetrain Technology and Cost Drivers: DR John Coultate R&D and Consultancy Dept. Leader

Wind Turbine Drivetrain
Technology and Cost Drivers
Dr John Coultate
R&D and Consultancy Dept. Leader
CONFIDENTIAL
@ Copyright 2011
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Wind turbine trends and segmentation
3. Drivetrain technology and cost drivers
4. Conclusions
CONFIDENTIAL
SHARING INNOVATION IN BEARING, GEARBOX & DRIVELINE @ Copyright 2011
Romax Technology
Gearbox and drivetrain specialists

Established in 1989
200 employees globally, 120 in UK
Work in a range of industries
o Automotive, Off-road, Marine
o Wind energy
Head office in Nottingham, UK
Overseas offices in the US, Germany, France, Japan,
Korea, China and India
CONFIDENTIAL
RomaxWIND Wind Turbine Drivetrain Software
RomaxWIND is the best-in-class Virtual Product Development environment for
design and analysis of wind turbine drivetrains
RomaxWIND includes the only gear analysis capability certified by GL
RomaxWIND is the first software of its kind to meet the stringent

certification requirements of GL, and is the result of a number of
years of close working between Romax and GL.
Dr Karl Steingroever from GL Renewables Certification
CONFIDENTIAL
Wind turbine trends and drivetrain technology
CONFIDENTIAL
Wind Turbine Markets 2010 status
Installed Wind Power in the World

- Annual and Cumulative -
40,000 200,000
35,000 Offshore installed 175,000

capacity in 2010 =
30,000 3,554 MW (1.8% of 150,000
total installed capacity)

25,000 125,000
Cumulative MW
MW per year
20,000 100,000
15,000 75,000
10,000 50,000
5,000 25,000
0 0
1983 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year
Source: BTM Consult - A Part of Navigant Consulting - March 2011
CONFIDENTIAL
Wind Turbine Markets Forecast
Annual Global Wind Power Development

Actual 1990-2010 Forecast 2011-2015 Prediction 2016-2020
150,000
Offshore market share

125,000
forecast to increase to
9.6% of total installed
100,000 capacity by 2015
MW
75,000
50,000
25,000
0
1990 2010 2015 2020
Source: BTM Consult - A Part of Navigant Prediction Offshore (Forecast) Forecast Existing capacity
Consulting - March 2011
CONFIDENTIAL
European Market Development
Offshore market today = Onshore market in 1997 (with same growth forecast!)
CONFIDENTIAL
Wind Turbine Markets
Many challenges as the industry grows:
Reliability and availability must improve

Reduction in Cost of Electricity (CoE):
Close the gap with other forms of power
Less reliance on government incentives
Drive down O&M costs
More experience required offshore:
Engineering challenges: foundations,
siting, operation and maintenance
How to run a profitable offshore business?
CONFIDENTIAL
Wind Turbine Markets Size trends
Average sizes of wind turbines installed increases each year:
Global Average Annual WTG in kW Source: BTM Consult - A Part of Navigant

Consulting - March 2011
1,800
Source: EWEA UpWind report, March 2010
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
kW
800
600
400
200
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Existing Current Future

2010: global average technology development
size = 1,650 kW 10 MW?
2 MW, 80m 7.5 MW, 200m rotor?
rotor 164m+ rotor
CONFIDENTIAL
Wind Turbine Markets Size trends
Forecasts indicate the largest market share will be for turbines 3 MW
Source: Emerging Energy Research
CONFIDENTIAL
Wind Turbine Markets Segmentation
Average size trend only tells part of the story
There is natural segmentation of the market for different sites and wind classes:
Onshore
1.5 MW 3 MW
Class I & II wind sites
Onshore 1.5 MW 4.5 MW

Class II & III wind sites Very large rotor (100m+ diameter)
~3 MW 10 MW+
Offshore Turbines optimised for offshore
Very large rotor (100m+ diameter)
CMS as standard
CONFIDENTIAL
Drivetrain Design
Drivetrain design decisions have a huge
impact on future success of a wind turbine
Cost of Energy (CoE) includes many factors for
the drivetrain, e.g.
o Drivetrain cost (CAPEX)

Turbine OEMs typically focus on this
during design development; drives down
whole turbine cost
o O&M cost (OPEX)
Reducing O&M costs is a main driver for
the end-user (owners, operators, utilities).
o Drivetrain reliability
Has a direct effect on future liability for
the OEM (warranty costs) and for the
operator (O&M costs)
CONFIDENTIAL
CAPEX and OPEX
Approx. annualised CAPEX and OPEX per MW installed:
OPEX costs are significantly

higher offshore AND higher 24 % OPEX Turbine CAPEX is higher
proportion of total cost offshore but are a lower
proportion of total cost
31 % Wind turbine & installation
OPEX 21 %
Wind turbine & installation 65 % Electrical Infrastructure,

45 % foundations & other
Electrical Infrastructure, Significant increase in

foundations & other 14 %
electrical infrastructure and
Onshore Offshore foundation cost offshore
CONFIDENTIAL
Drivetrain Technology
Three most dominant drivetrain technologies in the market:
High speed modular Medium speed Direct drive

drivetrain drivetrain drivetrain
Overall ratio Overall ratio approx. Overall ratio = 1:1

approx. 100:1 10:1 to 40:1
CONFIDENTIAL
Drivetrain Technology Trends
Size limited by higher ratio requirements and

physical limitations on high speed stage (bearings)
1MW 2MW 3MW 4MW 5MW 6MW 7MW 8MW 9MW 10MW
Conventional
High Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Medium Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Direct Drive
with PMG
CONFIDENTIAL
Size limited by mechanical/structural challenges

above 6MW, unproven technology at large sizes
and rare earth magnets too expensive >6MW
Conventional
High Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Medium Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Direct Drive
with PMG
CONFIDENTIAL
Removes unreliable high speed gearbox stage and

reduces impact of rare earth magnet cost
Conventional
High Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Medium Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Direct Drive
with PMG
CONFIDENTIAL
Conventional
High Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Medium Speed
Geared
Drivetrain
Direct Drive
with PMG
CONFIDENTIAL
Drivetrain Design Requirements
For drivetrain and gearbox design, the main requirements leading to

low CoE are:
1. High reliability; high availability
2. Low capital cost (CAPEX)
3. Ease of manufacture and assembly
4. Ease of maintenance
5. High efficiency
High efficiency can influence factors such as generator type, power

electronics and variable ratio gearboxes
High reliability does not just refer to mechanical reliability also Low
Voltage Ride Through (LVRT), stability of grid connection, etc.
CONFIDENTIAL
SHARING INNOVATION IN BEARING, GEARBOX AND DRIVELINE @ Copyright 2011
Drivetrain Components and Configurations
1. High speed modular 2-point mounted drivetrain
o Very common configuration e.g. Vestas V80, Gamesa 2 MW,

GE 1.5-77
Brake Generator
Gearbox
2x Main Bearings
Rear
Flexible bedplate
(fabricated
Coupling
steel
structure)
Planet carrier
Bedplate
(cast iron)
Low stiffness (generator mounts)

Tower
High stiffness Low stiffness
(bearing housings) (gearbox mount)
CONFIDENTIAL
2. High speed modular 3-point mounted drivetrain
o e.g. Siemens 2.3 MW, some GE 1.5 MW turbines
Brake Generator
Gearbox
1x Main Bearings
Flexible
Coupling
High stiffness
(bearing housings)
CONFIDENTIAL
3. Integrated main bearings; integrated mainframe; modular generator
Brake Generator
Gearbox
Flexible Shorter, more

Coupling compact
drivetrain
Main bearing
integrated into
gearbox housing
Gearbox is flange-
mounted to housing
CONFIDENTIAL
Medium Speed
Medium speed is an important concept
for next-generation turbines:
o Currently being utilised for large
turbines (3 MW+) by many
manufacturers, e.g. Vestas V164 7
MW, Areva Multibrid M5000, DSME
7 MW, and Gamesa G10X 4.5 MW
o Requires a careful approach to
design and analysis:
high level of integration and
interaction between gearbox
and generator
CONFIDENTIAL
Medium Speed
4. Example medium speed concept integrated generator (in-line); integrated main
bearings; integrated mainframe
Generator is
Gearbox Generator mounted in-line
onto gearbox
Rotor cables routed

through hollow
generator shaft
Note: brake may be

Main bearing mounted on low-
integrated into speed shaft or
gearbox housing downwind side of
generator
Gearbox is flange-
mounted to housing
CONFIDENTIAL
Medium Speed
E.g. Areva Multibrid M5000:
Large diameter
Integrated mainframe/gearbox integrated main Compound Water-cooled PMG
housing bearing planetary gear (integrated into gearbox
stage housing)
CONFIDENTIAL
Conclusions
An overview of technologies have been presented for the mechanical

drivetrain
There is currently a market trend towards Medium Speed concepts
which have a number of advantages for large turbines
CONFIDENTIAL
Thank you for listening!
john.coultate@romaxtech.com
CONFIDENTIAL
UK Head Office
Romax Technology is the technology leader in the
T: +44 (0)115 951 8800
precision simulation and analysis of bearing, gearbox
E: sales@romaxtech.com
and driveline systems.
Europe In over 20 years of providing expert engineering
T: +33 6 8091 8280 services to the global vehicle, aerospace, marine, rail
E: sales_fr@romaxtech.com and wind energy industries, Romax created and
refined Romax Designer, the worlds first object
Korea orientated engineering analysis software package.
T: +82 (0) 70 7580 6210
E: sales_kr@romaxtech.com Today Romax Designer has evolved into the worlds
most comprehensive whole-system simulation and
India analysis platform, enabling fast, high precision results
T: +91 (0) 20 67201 800 in one seamless development environment.
E: sales_in@romaxtech.com Romax believes in excellence through collaborative
research and development with leading wind turbine
Japan manufacturers and operators; vehicle manufacturers;
T: +81 (0) 3 5767 9400 gearbox and driveline manufacturers; gear and
E: sales_jp@romaxtech.com bearing manufacturers; and with certification,
research and academic institutions.
China As an innovative specialist Romax adopts a
T: +86 (0) 571 8378 6230 partnership style with customers and industry players
E: romaxchina@romaxtech.com to facilitate knowledge transfer and integrated
solutions. Headquartered in Nottingham, UK, Romax
North America provides an award winning localised service through
T: +1 248 250 7691 an extensive global network, with 12 offices located
E: sales_us@romaxtech.com in the UK, France, USA, Korea, Japan, China and India.
www.romaxtech.com
CONFIDENTIAL

Wind Turbine Drivetrain Technology and Cost Drivers: DR John Coultate R&D and Consultancy Dept. Leader

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Wind Turbine Drivetrain

Technology and Cost Drivers

Gearbox and drivetrain specialists

RomaxWIND is the first software of its kind to meet the stringent

Installed Wind Power in the World

35,000 Offshore installed 175,000

total installed capacity)

Annual Global Wind Power Development

Offshore market share

Many challenges as the industry grows:

Reliability and availability must improve

Global Average Annual WTG in kW Source: BTM Consult - A Part of Navigant

Existing Current Future

Source: Emerging Energy Research

Onshore 1.5 MW 4.5 MW

o Drivetrain cost (CAPEX)

OPEX costs are significantly

31 % Wind turbine & installation

Wind turbine & installation 65 % Electrical Infrastructure,

Electrical Infrastructure, Significant increase in

Three most dominant drivetrain technologies in the market:

High speed modular Medium speed Direct drive

Overall ratio Overall ratio approx. Overall ratio = 1:1

Size limited by higher ratio requirements and

Size limited by mechanical/structural challenges

Removes unreliable high speed gearbox stage and

For drivetrain and gearbox design, the main requirements leading to

High efficiency can influence factors such as generator type, power

o Very common configuration e.g. Vestas V80, Gamesa 2 MW,

Low stiffness (generator mounts)

o e.g. Siemens 2.3 MW, some GE 1.5 MW turbines

Flexible Shorter, more

Rotor cables routed

Note: brake may be

An overview of technologies have been presented for the mechanical

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