DNV issues guidance to reduce earthquake challenges for wind power plants

Offshore staff

HAMBURG, Germany – DNV has published what it claims is 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.

As wind power grows in these markets there is 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. According to DNV, guidance and industry consensus were 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” 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 18 months of work, the ACE (Alleviating Cyclone and Earthquake Challenges for Wind farms) JIP has gathered enough experiences from cross-industry players to align wind turbine design methodologies for those extreme environmental conditions.

This RP can now be used as a technical reference for seismic design as part of the contract between industry stakeholders, the company said. 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.  

Marcus Klose, Head of Section for Steel Structures at DNV who initiated and completed this project said: “With the support of 20 partners, we’ve now been able to create a guideline that will bring more transparency and reduce uncertainty in the design of onshore and offshore wind turbines.”

08/30/2021