This September, graduate student Daniel Bouzolin from UTD Wind presented at the 20th annual PhD Seminar hosted by the Wind Energy section of Uppsala University, AptWind, and the European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE). The three-day conference took place in Visby, Sweden and it allowed PhD researchers the opportunity to share their work among their peers as a way to get involved with an international community in wind energy.
The program featured sessions, posters, and networking events with students and industry leaders. Dan’s presentation titled “Design for Repowering of Wind Farms” examined what happens to wind turbines near the end of their production life. “Instead of thinking of repowering strictly as an (end of life) option, we’re looking to design wind farms for planned repowering from the very beginning,” stated Bouzolin. He took a comprehensive outlook that included everything from building stronger, longer-lasting components that can safely be reused in repowering to continued community engagement and sustainability aspects of a long-life wind farm.
Wind energy research is a multidisciplinary effort. Events like the EAWE PhD Seminar allow students to forge connections and encourage collaborations in fields outside their concentrations. “This work brings a new view to the industry – a way of designing wind farms of the future. We hope that this outlook can change the way wind farms are currently designed, installed, and maintained,” finished Bouzolin. His approach could potentially extend the life of turbines past the current standards of around 20 years and create a continual repowering model with designs lasting up to 100 years.
Dan is advised by Dr. D. Todd Griffith and has a few recent publications in engineering journals and conferences. He believes this event helps give more visibility to his work and connect with others sharing his research interests. The future of wind energy is fortunate to have passionate individuals tackling these challenges with innovation and creativity.
Read more about Dan’s work here: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/2767/8/082009/pdf