Layout optimization of an offshore floating wind farm deployed with novel multi-turbine platforms with the self-adaptive property

To deploy offshore wind in deeper waters, floating offshore wind confronts simultaneously significant opportunities and challenges. For dealing with the power deficit caused by the wake effect, a layout optimization method has been proposed for wind farms under variable wind conditions using the full-field wake model with the capacity to deploy multi-turbine platforms. The joint distribution of wind speed and direction is utilized to consider the variable wind conditions. The layout of an offshore wind farm, comprised of the floating platforms with multiple wind turbines and the wind-orientated ability, i.e., the self-adaptive property, is optimized under different wind conditions. Different numbers of turbines on a platform and platforms in the wind farm are deployed, respectively. The optimization results confirm that the platform with the self-adaptive property has a remarkable advantage to improve the efficiency of the wind farm. More turbines on a platform and less platforms can obtain higher efficiency. The distribution of wind speed and wind direction impacts the optimized layout and power output of the wind farm, simultaneously. The platforms arrange parallel lines which are perpendicular to the wind direction with more frequency and higher speed in the optimized wind farm. The concentration of the wind direction and the orthogonal angle between the wind and the long edge of the wind farm can increase the power output of the wind farm. However, the distribution of the wind speed has the dominant influence on the power output. •A layout optimization method for floating wind farms with self-adaptive platforms.•Optimized layouts of floating platforms with multiple wind turbines.•A full-field wake model with high accuracy and efficiency utilized in optimization.•Wind farm efficiency significantly improved by floating self-adaptive platforms.