Platformless DC Collection and Transmission for Offshore Wind

This paper presents the concepts of platformless DC connections of offshore wind power plants. First, the paper describes the feasible wind turbine drivetrain arrangements capable of producing sufficiently high DC voltage. Then, electrical system designs are proposed with consideration of balanced preferences between the DC wind turbine and the DC collection and transmission system. After that, the potential economic benefits of platformless DC connections are analyzed, showing CapEX reduction up to 28-25% in many cases based on cost data in the literature when compared to the AC collection and transmission solutions used today. Control concepts of such DC offshore wind farm system are also briefly introduced. The paper concludes that the platformless DC connection solution is a feasible and attractive alternative to reduce cost of offshore wind integration.