2012-06-08

Vindforsk III: An evaluation Utvärdering av Vindforsk III

www.technopolis-group.com

Vindforsk III: an evaluation Utvärdering av Vindforsk III

Faugert & Co Utvärdering AB, June, 2012

Tommy Jansson, Anders Håkansson

Table of Contents Executive Summary

1

Sammanfattning

3

1. Introduction

5

1.1 The evaluation remit

5

1.2 Work carried out

5

1.3 The structure of the report

5

2. Vindforsk III

6

2.1 Background

6

2.2 Previous evaluations

7

2.3 Programme budget and the project portfolio

7

2.4 The international expert panel 3. Impacts 3.1 Three examples of good practice

13 14 17

4. Programme strategy

19

5. Programme efficacy

21

5.1 The steering groups

21

5.2 Project packages

23

5.3 Ideas for future programme periods

23

6. Objectives fulfilment

25

6.1 Fulfilment of programme objectives

25

6.2 Fulfilment of success criteria identified for Vindforsk III

25

6.3 Fulfilment of the objectives of the Swedish Energy Agency

26

7. Reflection

27

Appendix A Scientific evaluation

29

Appendix B Interviewees

46

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

i

Executive Summary The Vindforsk III programme has been evaluated. The national wind energy research programme Vindforsk is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish national grid (Svenska Kraftnät) and companies in the sector, and administrated by Elforsk. Vindforsk III, the third period of the programme, covers the period 2009-2012. The evaluation covers scientific aspects as well as industrial relevance, results, objectives attainment and programme administration. The scientific evaluation has been carried out by an international expert group, whereas Faugert & Co Utvärdering has been responsible for issues concerning impacts on industry, the value of the initiative to its funders and participants and objectives attainment. The latter covers Vindforsk’s own objectives as well as those of the Swedish Energy Agency for the area of energy research and innovation. The overall objective of Vindforsk is to strengthen the conditions for building and operating wind power by: 

producing generalizable results concerning wind energy characteristics and opportunities



conducting research at the international forefront within a number of technology areas



preserving and strengthening the skills of existing research groups at universities and engineering consultants.



strengthening the recruitment base for Swedish wind power industry



making wind energy research visible and disseminate its results

Of the Vindforsk III budget of 80 MSEK, industrial participants contribute 50 %. Some of this is contributed in kind, but nearly 60 MSEK is cash contribution available for project funding. This “project base cash funding budget” has been divided into four (originally five) research areas: The Wind Resource and External Conditions, Operation and Maintenance, Wind Power in the Power System and Environmental Scanning and Standardisation. Vindforsk III has a clear orientation towards wind power in forests, in cold climate and wind power in the power system. The international expert panel considers these to be relevant priorities given the Swedish context with large opportunities for wind power in forest areas and in cold climate. Due to the large amount of wind power that will be introduced into the power system, research in this field is considered to be highly relevant. Allocation of funds between research areas seems to be balanced, according to the experts as well as company representatives. The international experts recognize in all programme areas projects that are in the international forefront, at the same time as many of the projects have an industrial rather than a scientific focus. The expert group sees the strong collaboration between academia and the industry as positive for the scientific level, since knowledge of real installations and available measurements helps to develop scientific results and identify gaps where more research is needed. The most evident benefit to industry is the supply of master graduates and PhD candidates to the industry. Competence building is seen as the programme’s main contribution to the participating companies and the Swedish wind energy sector in general. The programme undoubtedly contributes to there being more researchers and more research carried out at some Swedish universities, which in turn is beneficial for PhD training and undergraduate university education. The company representatives do not primarily expect new products to emerge from the programme, but rather new knowledge that can be transferred to the companies and utilised to improve existing products or services and contribute to the development in the long term perspective.

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

1

The programme is beneficial principally to the larger companies, who are also the main funders. These have an opportunity to deepen their relations with research institutions, and implement their ideas in specific projects of high relevance to the company. The largest funders of the programme have a significant influence over which projects will be funded, and this seems to be crucial for their willingness to continue their relatively large investments in the programme. The Vindforsk programme furthermore allows the big companies/funders to carry out more longterm R&D projects than they would otherwise engage in. At the same time it is faster and more nimble than EU programmes, and also compared to applying for individual project funding from the Swedish Energy Agency. The programme is less instrumental in promoting international collaborations or participation in international R&D projects. Some argue that the programme activities are not designed to contribute to this, since participating companies do not primarily see the Vindforsk programme as a vehicle for international collaborations. Companies fund and participate in the programme for a variety of reasons. Vindforsk gives the companies an opportunity to know what is going on in the sector and an insight into strategically important projects, and it gives them access to a knowledge base in core areas for their business as well as in adjacent areas. Some companies use the programme to fund projects that are not too close to their products, but rather deal with issues that they can and want to disseminate more broadly. One important aspect of the programme is that it provides a neutral ground or meeting place for actors from the sector. This was noted in the evaluation of the previous programme period, and the programme continues to carry out this function. Vindforsk is regarded as a good way to build bridges between academia and industry. Compared to previous programme periods, Vindforsk III has presented two new features: the steering groups for the research areas and the project packages. These new elements have improved the administration and implementation of the programme, and there is every reason to continue refining these features in a probable fourth programme period. The Elforsk administration generally receives high scores throughout, but not least the external communication would benefit from increased resources. Evidence from this evaluation suggests that the objectives set up by the programme and by the Swedish Energy Agency have generally been met to a satisfying degree. There is little doubt that Vindforsk produces generalizable results concerning wind energy characteristics and opportunities, preserves and strengthens the skills of existing research groups at universities and engineering consultants and strengthens the recruitment base for the Swedish wind power industry. Despite the fact that Sweden does not overall hold a top position in wind energy research, the international experts conclude that some research of high international level is carried out in all programme areas in Vindforsk III. Continued good efforts are needed to make wind energy research visible and to disseminate its results. There is furthermore a high level of fulfilment regarding the three success criteria the programme board identified for the programme period, as well as for one of the two overriding objectives of the Swedish Energy Agency in the field of energy research and innovation. The second of these objectives - to develop technology and services that through commercialisation in Swedish industry can contribute to the conversion and development of the energy system - is not in the focus of the programme. The programme emphasises knowledge building and methods rather than technology and services. We conclude our report with some reflections for both the programme board and the Swedish Energy Agency to consider in the light of discussions for another programme period.

2

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

Sammanfattning Forskningsprogrammet Vindforsk III har utvärderats. Vindforsk, som administreras av Elforsk, är ett nationellt vindforskningsprogram finansierat av Energimyndigheten, Svenska Kraftnät och företag inom sektorn. Vindforsk III är den tredje perioden av programmet, som omfattar åren 2009-2012. Utvärderingen omfattar vetenskapliga aspekter samt industriell relevans, resultat, måluppfyllelse och programadministration. Den vetenskapliga utvärderingen har genomförts av en internationell expertgrupp, medan Faugert & Co Utvärdering har fokuserat på övriga frågeställningar. Vindforsks mål är att stärka vindkraftens förutsättningar genom att: 

ta fram generaliserbara resultat kring vindkraftens egenskaper och möjligheter



forskningen som bedrivs ska ske på den internationella framkanten inom ett antal teknikområden



bevara och stärka kompetensen i befintliga forskargrupper vid universitet, högskolor samt teknikkonsulter



stärka rekryteringsbasen till svensk vindkraftindustri



synliggöra vindkraftforskningen och sprida dess resultat

Vindforsk III har en budget på 80 Mkr, där deltagande företag bidrar med 50 %. Nästan 60 Mkr är kontanta bidrag, tillgängliga för projektfinansiering. Denna budget för kontantfinansiering har delats upp i fyra (ursprungligen fem) forskningsområden: Vindresursen och externa förhållanden, Optimal drift och underhåll, Vindkraft i kraftsystemet samt Omvärldsbevakning och standardisering. Vindforsk III har en tydlig inriktning mot vindkraft i skog, i kallt klimat och vindkraft i kraftsystemet. Den internationella expertgruppen ser dessa prioriteringar som relevanta med tanke på förhållandena i Sverige med stora möjligheter för vindkraft i skogsområden och i kallt klimat. Inom dessa områden ses som högst relevant med tanke på den stora mängden vindkraft som kommer att tillföras kraftsystemet. Fördelningen av medel mellan forskningsområden verkar vara balanserad, enligt experter samt företagsrepresentanter. Den internationella expertgruppen har inom alla programområden identifierat projekt som är i den internationella frontlinjen, samtidigt som många projekt inom programmet har en industriell snarare än en vetenskaplig inriktning. Expertgruppen ser ett starkt samarbete mellan den akademiska världen och industrin som positivt för den vetenskapliga nivån, eftersom kunskapen om verkliga förhållanden och tillgängliga mätningar hjälper till att utveckla vetenskapliga resultat och identifiera luckor där det behövs mer forskning. Den mest uppenbara fördelen för industrin är att programmet förser branschen med kvalificerade personer. Kompetensuppbyggnad utgör programmets viktigaste bidrag till de deltagande företagen och svensk vindenergisektor i allmänhet. Vindforsk bidrar utan tvekan till att fler forskare utför mer forskning vid vissa svenska universitet, vilket i sin tur är till gagn för doktorandutbildningar och grundutbildningar. Företagen förväntar sig inte främst nya produkter från programmet, utan snarare ny kunskap som kan överföras till företagen och utnyttjas att förbättra befintliga produkter eller tjänster samt bidra till utvecklingen i det långsiktiga perspektivet. Programmet gynnar huvudsakligen de större företagen, som också är de viktigaste finansiärerna. Dessa har möjlighet att fördjupa sina kontakter med forskningsinstitutioner och genomföra sina idéer i särskilda projekt av stor betydelse för företaget. De största finansiärerna av programmet har ett betydande inflytande över vilka projekt som finansieras, och detta förefaller avgörande för deras beredvillighet att fortsätta sina relativt stora investeringar i programmet. Genom

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

3

Vindforsk kan större företag/finansiärer genomföra mer långsiktiga FoU-projekt än de annars skulle engagera sig i. Programmet bidrar i mindre utsträckning till att främja internationella samarbeten eller deltagande i internationella forskningsprojekt. Vissa intervjupersoner hävdar att programverksamheten inte är utformad för att bidra till detta, då deltagande företagen inte främst ser programmet som ett instrument för internationella samarbeten. Företag finansierar och deltar i programmet av en mängd olika skäl. Vindforsk ger dem en möjlighet att veta vad som händer inom sektorn och en inblick i strategiskt viktiga projekt, och det ger företagen tillgång till en kunskapsbas i kärnverksamheter såväl som i angränsande områden. Vissa företag använder programmet för att finansiera projekt som behandlar frågor som de kan och vill sprida mer brett, och som inte är alltför produktnära. En viktig aspekt är att programmet utgör en neutral mötesplats för sektorns aktörer. Detta noterades redan i utvärderingen av den föregående programperioden, och programmet fortsätter att upprätthålla denna funktion. Vindforsk betraktas allmänt som ett bra sätt att bygga broar mellan akademi och industri. Elforsks administration får generellt höga betyg, men inte minst den externa kommunikationen skulle kunna förbättras med utökade resurser. Jämfört med tidigare programperioder erbjuder Vindforsk III två nyheter: styrgrupper för forskningsområdena samt projektpaket. Dessa nya funktioner har stärkt programadministrationen, och det finns all anledning att fortsätta utveckla dem i en trolig fjärde perioden. Denna utvärdering visar på god uppfyllelse av programmålen och Energimyndighetens mål inom området. Det råder inga tvivel om att Vindforsk tar fram generaliserbara resultat om vindkraftens egenskaper och möjligheter, bevarar och stärker kompetensen hos existerande forskargrupper vid universitet, högskolor samt teknikkonsulter samt stärker rekryteringsbasen till svensk vindkraftindustri. De internationella experterna påpekar att viss forskning av hög internationell nivå genomförs i alla programområden inom Vindforsk III, trots att Sverige inte generellt håller en topposition inom vindenergiforskning. Fortsatt goda insatser krävs för att synliggöra vindkraftforskningen och sprida dess resultat. Uppfyllelsen är vidare mycket god vad gäller de tre framgångskriterier som programstyrelsen identifierat för programperioden. Vad gäller Energimyndighetens två övergripande mål för forskning och innovation utgör det andra - att utveckla teknik och tjänster som genom kommersialisering i svensk industri kan bidra till omställning och utveckling av energisystemet - inte fokus för programmet. Programmet betonar kunskapsbyggande och metoder snarare än teknik och tjänster. Rapporten avslutas med några reflektioner riktade till både programstyrelsen och Energimyndigheten.

4

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

1. Introduction Vindforsk is a national wind power research programme funded by the Swedish Energy Agency and companies in the sector. Vindforsk III is the third period of the programme, and covers the years 2009-2012.

1.1 The evaluation remit According to the Vindforsk programme plan, an evaluation is to be carried out in 2012 covering scientific aspects as well as industrial relevance, results goal attainment and programme administration. The scientific evaluation has been carried out by an international expert group, whereas Faugert & Co Utvärdering has been responsible for issues concerning impacts on industry, the value of the initiative to its funders and participants and objectives attainment. The latter covers Vindforsk’s own objectives as well as those of the Swedish Energy Agency. Within the area of energy research and innovation those objectives are: 

To build knowledge to facilitate the conversion to a long-term sustainable energy system



To develop technology and services that through commercialisation in Swedish industry can contribute to the conversion and development of the energy system.

The present report covers all evaluation aspects. The results from the scientific evaluation carried out by the international experts have been integrated in the report, but the experts’ own report is also attached as Appendix A.

1.2 Work carried out Background information has consisted of Swedish Energy Agency decision documents, reports on programme and project level and the evaluation of the previous programme period. We have then carried out the following data collection: 

A total of 27 interviews with people involved in Vindforsk III - members of the board and steering groups, participating companies and researchers –, the programme manager at Elforsk1 and representatives from companies and organisations not actively involved in the Vindforsk programme



Discussions with the panel of international experts



Survey to members of the three steering groups: 14 answers of 22 (64 %)

The evaluation has been carried out between April - June 2012 by Anders Håkansson and Tommy Jansson, with the latter being the project leader. Peter Stern has acted as quality controller.

1.3 The structure of the report Section 2 presents the Vindforsk III programme, and summarises the international experts’ report and the evaluations of the previous programme periods. Section 3 presents the results and effects on industrial users and universities, and section 4 discusses the programme strategy. Section 5 contains data concerning the administration of the programme, and in section 6 we give our view on the fulfilment of the objectives set up for the programme and for the Swedish Energy Agency. In section 7, finally, we discuss and reflect upon the evidence presented in previous sections.

1 Elforsk AB is jointly owned by Swedenergy and Svenska Kraftnät (the Swedish national grid operator). Its

overall objective is to rationalise sector wide research and development

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

5

2. Vindforsk III 2.1 Background Vindforsk is a national wind power research programme funded by the Swedish Energy Agency and an, over time, increasing number of companies in the sector. The third programme period, Vindforsk III, has been co-funded by nearly 30 companies. The programme is administrated by Elforsk. Vindforsk aims to increase the awareness of wind energy related issues and to strengthen the base for Swedish wind power expertise. This knowledge will lead to wind power being implemented and operated effectively in the Swedish power system and creating conditions for a Swedish industry in the area. According to the plans of the Swedish Government, wind energy will be an essential part of the power system and therefore an important part of the electricity supply. There will be long-term competence built up in a number of Swedish universities and companies to ensure the maintenance of knowledge in wind power technology at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, and the Vindforsk programme should be seen in the light of this process. The overall objective of Vindforsk is to strengthen the conditions for building and operating wind power by: 

producing generalizable results concerning wind energy characteristics and opportunities



conducting research at the international forefront within a number of technology areas to preserve and strengthen the skills of existing research groups at universities and engineering consultants.



strengthening the recruitment base for Swedish wind power industry



making wind energy research visible and disseminate its results

Vindforsk started in 2002, and is now in its third programme period. 

Vindforsk I ran from 2002-2004 and was prolonged over 2005. The budget for Vindforsk I was 27 MSEK per year of which around 7 MSEK was funding from industry.



Vindforsk II ran between 2006 and 2008. The program budget was divided into a basic research part fully funded by Swedish Energy Agency and an applied research part funded with 40 % from the Swedish Energy Agency and 60 % from industrial parties and the Swedish national grid operator Svenska Kraftnät. The budget was 6 MSEK per year for the basic research part and 9 MSEK per year for the applied research.



Vindforsk III runs for a four year period between 2009 and 2012, with a total budget of around 20 MSEK per year. Half of this funding comes from the Swedish Energy Agency, and the other half from the companies participating in the programme and the Swedish national grid operator (Svenska Kraftnät).

The programme has experienced a change of focus over time. Vindforsk I focused more on initial and general matters whilst Vindforsk II turned more user-oriented to solve problems and challenges for those who plan and operate wind power as well as the grid side of utilities. Projects related to environmental issues, concession process issues as well as electrical components were left outside the programme. Vindforsk III has continued along this road and the most significant efforts to become more user adaptive is perhaps within development of better maintenance methods, better knowledge and research about cold climate and the connection of large wind farms to the Swedish grid system.

6

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

2.2 Previous evaluations Both previous periods of the Vindforsk programme have been evaluated. Vindforsk I was evaluated on a general programme level rather than regarding the scientific and technical level of the individual projects. The programme was considered to be of generally good quality and to play an important role in the development of Swedish wind power, although both overall and more specific programme objectives were deemed too broad and diffuse. The evaluation further argued for increased knowledge transfer from research to industry as well as for improved networking, both nationally and internationally. The evaluators suggested that better integrating research results from the programme would create greater impact and achieve increased focus on the systems side. Much of what the evaluation of the first programme period suggested was taken care of in the second. The evaluation of Vindforsk II thus regarded the programme as a welcome addition to the research activities the larger companies themselves carry out, and by funding the programme and being a member of its board these could influence the direction and content of the research programme. The added value for the funding companies, agencies and stakeholders, the evaluation concluded, lied in the fact that the programme was a national endeavour focusing on basic and applied wind energy research, which made it different from other programmes such as Vindval or Elektra. However, the added value of being a funding party was proportional to the input, with less perceived added value for those who contributed less to the programme. The international experts considered Vindforsk II to be of generally high scientific level, with a project portfolio relevant to the objectives of the programme. The experts recommended that the programme continued with the same objectives, and gave priority to projects that benefit international collaboration. The experts also recommended a longer programme period in order to be able to fund PhD students to a larger extent, and that the criteria for project selection also formally could include scientific quality. Although the administration of the programme worked well, the evaluation pointed to some areas that could be improved: the projects’ reference groups as tools for knowledge transfer, and the external communication.

2.3 Programme budget and the project portfolio Vindforsk III has a total budget of 80 MSEK. Industrial participants contribute 50 % of the budget, which means at least 40 MSEK.2 Out of this, 27.3 MSEK is cash funding. The difference up to 40 MSEK is funded as in kind contributions in different projects or from cash funding from other sources than the “base cash funding” of 27.3 MSEK by the industrial participants. A total of 8 MSEK is allocated to programme administration, evaluation and information, and funded in cash. With the funds for programme administration, evaluation and information there is thus 59.5 SEK available for cash project funding. This “project base cash funding budget” has been divided into the different research areas as described in Table 1.

2 Industrial participants including Svenska Kraftnät (the Swedish national grid operator)

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

7

Table 1 Vindforsk III budget and funded projects per April 2012 Budget cash (MSEK)

Funding granted per April 2012 (MSEK)

Total budget (MSEK) 3

Research areas 1 & 2

29.2

29.6

38.9

Research area 3

6.6

5.5

7

Research area 4

19.7

17.5

21.3

Research area 5

3.3

3.8

6.4

Reserve

0.3

-

-

Total

59.5

56

73.6

2.3.1 Research area 1 and 2: The Wind Resource and External Conditions Two different research areas were defined from the start, “Wind Resource and Establishment” and “Cost Effective Wind Farms and Planning”. These were later merged into one, due to the many similarities among the projects. The two steering groups were also merged into one, addressing all the projects in the two research areas. The scope of the joint research area “The Wind Resource and External Conditions” is to gain new knowledge about the establishment of wind power in new areas, and to contribute to more accurate and effective planning, and investigate how to build wind farms with optimal performance and durability. Three project packages have been implemented in this research area: Wind Power in Forests (V-312) and Wind Power in Cold Climate (V-313) (from the original research area 1), and Optimisation and Control of Wind Farms (V-333) from what was research area 2. Approximately 29.2 MSEK (38.9 MSEK including contribution in kind) have been allocated to this merged area.

3 Including cash and in kind funding from Vindforsk III, and cash funding from other sources.

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Vindforsk III: An evaluation

Table 2 List of projects in research area 1 and 2 Title

R&D performer

Budget (kSEK) Cash

In kind

Total

V-303

Kalibrering av givare som mäter istillväxt

Holooptics AB

43

35

78

V-312

Wind Power in Forests

Uppsala University

10 00 0

3 500

13 50 0

V-313

Wind Power in Cold Climate

Uppsala University

8 00 0

3 000

11 00 0

V-333

Optimisation and Control of Wind Farms

KTH

5 500

1 260

6 760

V-338

IEA RD&D Wind, Task 19

WindRen AB

450

450

900

V-342

Tall Towers for Large Wind Turbines

Ägir Konsult

256

-

256

V-349

Masts for Wind Measurements

Prodevelopment

300

-

300

V-351

Cracks in Foundations

Vattenfall

212

38

250

V-352

Wind Remote Sensing

Vattenfall Power Consultant

200

-

200

V-355

IEA, Task 31, Wakebench

Gotland University

400

-

400

V-356

Knowledge Inventory of Methods Used for Windmapping

SMHI

305

50

355

V-359

Pre-study: Verification Data for V-313

Pöyry Swedpower

255

-

-

V-363

Measurements of Overicing

Uppsala University

753

84

339

V-366

Instant Wind

Agder Energi

1 020

220

973

V-370

Farm-Farm

Gotland University

1 150

700

1 720

V-374

Prefabricated Gravity Foundations

LTU

375

-

1 150

Onshore

Wind

Power

2.3.2 Research area 3: Operation and maintenance The overarching objective for this area is to develop new processes and knowledge that will have an impact on the cost of wind power operation and maintenance as well as on improved safety. One project package was planned in this research area but could not be implemented due to the lack of compatible projects. The total budget for this area has been approximately 5.4 MSEK (6.9 MSEK including contribution in kind).

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

9

Table 3 List of projects in research area 3 Title

R&D performer

Budget (kSEK) Cash

In kind

Total

v-315

Pre-study: Gearbox Failures in Onshore Wind Turbines

AB Respond Industry

400

198

598

V-316

Damage Preventing Measures for Wind Turbines

Inspecta Technology AB

520

75

595

V-327

Reliability Modelling and Optimal Maintenance

Chalmers

1 875

350

2 225

V-331

Experience from Contract Inspections

Energo

350

-

350

V-344

RAMS-Database for Wind Power

Vattenfall Power Consultant

600

-

600

V-345

Feasibility Study of Thermal Condition Monitoring and Condition Based Maintenance in Wind Turbines

Industriellt UtvecklingsCentrum

212

75

287

V-365

Acoustic Emission Stethoscope

ÅF Infrastructure AB

392

439

831

V-367

Oil Cleanliness in Wind Power Gearboxes

Vattenfall R&D

560

230

790

V-375

"CoinFail", Investigation of Converter Failures

Chalmers

570

100

670

2.3.3 Research area 4: Wind Power in the Power System The scope for this area is to develop knowledge that creates preconditions for a rational introduction of wind power to the power system. The objective for this area is also to support universities to retain a high scientific level and international cooperation within this field. Two project packages have been implemented in this research area, “Regulations and Electricity Market” and “High Frequency Oscillation”. A total of approximately 17.5 MSEK (21.3 MSEK including contribution in kind) has been allocated to this area.

10

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

Table 4 List of projects in research area 4 Title

R&D performer

Budget (kSEK) Cash

In kind

Total

V-306

Harmonic Distortion and Wind Power Installations

LTU/STRI AB

1 750

550

2 300

V-309

The impact of Wind Farms on Subsynchronous Resonance in Power Systems

Gothia Power AB

500

150

650

V-325

High Frequency Transients in Large Offshore Wind Farms

Chalmers

2 075

410

2 485

V-326

High frequency transients in Large Wind Farms: Advanced Measurements

ABB

1 700

360

2 060

V-345

Power Quality in the 130 kV connection point of a 110 MW wind farm.

Vattenfall R&D

720

100

820

V-305

Regulations and Electricity Market

KTH

2 820

-

2 820

V-317

Size and Cost of Forecast Errors

Vattenfall R&D

500

100

600

V-321

Protection of HVDC Connected Wind Farm

ABB

800

260

1 060

V-232

Protection System Design for MVDC Collection Grids for Offshore Wind Farms

Vattenfall R&D

800

-

800

V-340

Offshore Wind Grid Solutions

KTH

200

-

200

V-308

Brushless Wind Power Generator for Limited Speed range

KTH

1 750

500

2 250

V-310

Wind Power and Fault Clearance

Gothia Power AB

780

-

780

V-311

On the Assessment of the Dynamic Impact of Large Wind Parks on the Power System Stability

KTH

1 875

-

1 875

V-339

Problems in the Power System Related to Wind Power – An Inventory

Vattenfall R&D

200

-

200

V-358

Implementation of Frequency Control in Wind Power

ÅF Industry AB

600

-

600

V-369

“PoStaWind”, Power System Stability and Grid Code Requirements

STRI AB

234

1 400

1 634

V-379

Investigation on the needs and status in the field of generic models for wind power plants

LTU

193

-

193

2.3.4 Research area 5: Environmental Scanning and Standardisation The objective for this area is to monitor trends and developments within the field, promote new standards and gain new knowledge on permit management issues. Research area 5 has no steering group. Three project packages were planned for this research area, and the two project packages that have been implemented are in line with the programme plan. However, no measures have been taken to address “Acceptance and the Approval Process”. The board decided to abandon this package with reference to the development in the field during the time after writing of the programme plan. The total budget for this area is 3.8 MSEK (6.4 MSEK including contribution in kind).

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

11

Table 5 List of projects in research area 5 Title

R&D performer

Budget (kSEK) Cash

In kind

Total

V-302

Standardisations

Vattenfall and Pöyry Swedpower AB

3638

2563

6201

V-348

Environmental Scanning

Ägir Konsult AB

-

80

80

V-376

Wind Power Production Statistics

NECA Vindkraftstatistik AB

100

-

100

2.3.5 Relevance and allocation of funds The programme has a clear orientation towards wind power in forests, wind power in cold climate and wind power in the power system. The international expert panel considers these to be relevant priorities given the Swedish context with large opportunities for wind power in forest areas and in cold climate. Due to the large amount of wind power that will be introduced into the power system, research in this field is also considered to be highly relevant. Several company representatives recognize the programme’s emphasis on Swedish conditions. However, some of the larger companies that operate internationally would be interested in larger focus on, for instance, issues regarding offshore installations, which is more relevant for their exploitation of wind power in other countries. No negative comments have been made about the allocation of funds between research areas, and the company representatives find the programme to be balanced. The research area “Operation and Maintenance” constitutes a smaller part of the programme. This is partly due to a conscious prioritisation from the board, and partly because there were not a desired number of applications in this area. The board had to encourage more applications in order to find project proposals that would meet the criteria set. Apart from research area 5, where the issue “Acceptance and the Approval Process” has not been addressed, the activities in the different research areas correlate to the objectives formulated for respective area. One objective of the programme was to allocate 60 % of the cash budget to projects at universities. The programme has by May 2012 granted 39.5 MSEK to projects lead by a university, and this effectively corresponds to 70 % of the total programme budget. Some of the grants in project packages V-312 and V-313 project go to participants outside the universities (e.g. the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute SMHI). Cash grants directly to universities total around 32.5 MSEK, which corresponds to 58 % of granted cash funding. The largest recipient is KTH with around 14.5 MSEK followed by Uppsala University (8.5 MSEK) and Chalmers (4.7 MSEK). The programme was intended to have one or more project packages in each research area. This objective has not been reached, as research areas 3 and 5 have not included any project packages. One explanation highlighted in the interviews was the initial lack of high quality applications for packages in these areas, further described in section 5.2. One interviewee states that the intention for Vindforsk III was to prioritise larger projects but did not succeed fully in this regard.

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Vindforsk III: An evaluation

2.4 The international expert panel As part of the overall programme evaluation, an international expert panel has assessed the programme from a scientific quality point of view.4 The three scientific evaluators together cover knowledge of programme activities for research areas 1, 2, 3 and 4. The expert panel finds examples in all programme areas of projects that are in the forefront in an international comparison. In some projects the scientific quality is of high international level, at the same time as many of the projects have an industrial rather than a scientific focus. The panel sees the strong collaboration between academia and the industry as positive for the scientific level, since the knowledge of real installations and available measurements helps to develop scientific results and identify gaps where more research is needed. The most evident benefit to industry is the supply of master graduates and PhD candidates to the sector. As is to be expected, little of the project results achieved so far have been implemented. Those research groups that already had a tradition for publication have been able to publish results from the projects. For the industrial partners the dissemination of results is more related to organising workshops, publishing in conferences and in other arenas, but the expert panel points out that bringing master students and PhD candidates to the industry is also an aspect of results dissemination. The panel concludes that the Vindforsk programme has reached its objectives in strengthening the cooperation between Swedish universities and industry and thereby strengthened the technical competence in Sweden. When it comes to developing models for grid simulation and cold climate issues the programme is close to reaching its objectives, whereas for maintenance modelling and optimisation valuable results have been achieved but many open areas still exist. The expert panel puts forward several recommendations: 

a mandatory mid-term evaluation report from each project, which as a minimum should cover the following issues: 

Is there a need to change the project objectives based on the knowledge achieved half away?



Are challenges encountered that are threatening the ability to meet the project objectives?



Achievements so far



The board should identify measures that can empower the role of informal arenas within the programme, such as dedicated workshops on topics like “sharing reliability data”, “visions for next generation wind turbines” etc.



The board should encourage industry and universities to submit project proposals explicitly addressing the challenge of confidentiality and what can be done about it



The researcher should strive to write the publication in such a way that confidential data are not released, and the “publication strategy” used by the NOWITECH project in Norway is recommended



The appointment of one or two professors in the board and/or in the steering groups, as well as to invite a wind turbine producer onto the board.

4 The members of the international expert panel were Liisa Haarla (Aalto University School of Electrical

Engineering, Finland), Søren Eiling Larsen (DTU, Denmark) and Jørn Vatn (NTNU, Norway). For the complete expert panel report, see appendix A

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13

3. Impacts According to interviewees and the international experts, competence building is the programme’s main contribution to the participating companies and the Swedish wind energy sector in general. Competence building can be achieved through in-kind contributions which allow company R&D staff to take part in research projects carried out. Participating companies can also receive funding from Vindforsk in order to implement projects of specific relevance to their company in-house, provided that the reference group has full insight into the project and that the results are shared. However, few participating companies are able to engage R&D staff of their own in the projects. Many of the smaller companies, who co-finance the programme but are not represented on the board or in the steering groups, access results from the programme by being engaged in reference groups or by reading project reports. Competence building can also be achieved through technology and knowledge transfer from one sector to another. The project “Harmonic distortion and wind power installations” (V-306) is one example of this: through the funding from Vindforsk for this project, the research group at LTU has been able to enter the area of wind energy where they had little previous experience. The company representatives do not primarily expect new products to emerge from the programme, but rather new knowledge that can be transferred to the companies and utilised to improve existing products or services and contribute to the development in the long term perspective. In the survey we asked the steering group members what results have been achieved and are to be expected from the programme. As is shown in Exhibit 1, scientific publications and new methods and tests are the results that most often have been achieved. According to the survey, several companies have recruited personnel with a PhD degree and they will participate in new R&D projects as a result of the programme. It should be noted that the respondents answer the questions in relation to their expectations rather than to the objectives of the programme. A total of ten PhD students have participated in different research projects during the course of Vindforsk III, some of whom started during Vindforsk II and are now in the final stages of completing their dissertations. These students form an important basis for future recruitment by the companies. A number of PhD students who finalised their education during the previous programme period now hold positions in some of the participating companies; others have continued within academia. One of the PhD students from Vindforsk II now coordinates one of the programme packages in the current programme.

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Vindforsk III: An evaluation

Exhibit 1 Achieved and expected results Scientific publication New methods and tests Recruitment of PhD personnel New national R&D projects Prototypes Increased competence, R&D staff International competitiveness New products and services New international R&D projects New standards New manufacturing processes 0%

20%

40%

60%

Has been reached

Will be reached

Will not be reached

Not applicable

80%

100%

It is worth noting that respondents expect many of the results to be achieved in the long term. Vindforsk III runs for a total of four years, and since impacts such as “increased international competitiveness” and “new international R&D projects” normally take a longer time to achieve it is not surprising that few respondents consider these accomplished at this time. The same applies for impacts concerning contributions to new products or manufacturing processes. These observations are corroborated by the interviews; product development typically takes several years and implementing results from projects in Vindforsk into existing or new products is a slow process. Participating companies do not expect immediate results that lead to new products, but they do, however, expect that the projects correlate with their own activities and are applicable to their products or services. Few interviewees consider the programme instrumental in promoting international collaborations or participation in international R&D projects. Some argue that the programme activities are not designed to contribute to this, since participating companies do not primarily see the Vindforsk programme as an instrument for international collaborations. The larger companies conclude that they are already well positioned in terms of international R&D collaborations, and have no need for further collaborations or do not expect Vindforsk to provide these opportunities. The smaller companies (in size and funding level) participate mainly to keep up with developments nationally in the sector. Several projects in the programme include some elements of international cooperation, but these often depend on R&D performers with already established relations to universities outside Sweden. We see that the programme is beneficial principally to the larger companies, who are also the main funders. These have an opportunity to deepen their relations to research institutions, and implement their ideas in specific projects of high relevance to the company. The largest funders of the programme seem to have a significant influence over which projects will be funded, and the interviews with representatives of these entities also indicate that this is crucial for the willingness to continue their relatively large investments in the programme. Some company representatives have been very outspoken with the fact that they need to secure that they receive relevant results equal to their investment. The funding of research and development always involves a risk for the investor and naturally companies will try to reduce that risk, e.g. by choosing R&D performers who have already demonstrated the ability to produce good results. This strategy from the larger companies is hardly surprising. At the same time, however, there is some criticism that the R&D performers have been largely the same

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

15

throughout the Vindforsk history, and that there is a need for an inflow of new perspectives. This ambition needs to harmonise with the companies’ strategy of preferred partners. As seen in Exhibit 2, more than 60 % of steering group members stated that the programme has contributed to cooperation between their organisation and existing contacts in universities (HEI’s, Higher Education Institutions), 60 % also said that they have benefitted from new contacts as a result of participating in the programme. This indicates that the programme still contributes to the expansion of the field and extends the contact surfaces between academia and industry. Exhibit 2 Does the programme support new and existing contacts between companies and academia?

New contacts within HEIs Existing contacts within HEIs Companies 0% Yes

20% No

40%

60%

80%

100%

Don't know

The steering group members were asked to state how they access results from the programme. Exhibit 3 presents these results, and compares them to the evaluation of Vindforsk II where members of the board were asked the same question. Reference group meetings seem to be the most common source of information in Vindforsk III (this alternative was not given in the Vindforsk II survey). There have been some critical observations concerning the lack of interest in or input from some reference groups – either from company representatives, or from researchers themselves – but the survey highlights the value and importance of the reference group for dissemination of research results and increasing the use of them. Meetings arranged by Vindforsk and other meetings outside the own organisation play an important role in disseminating information and knowledge about the progress and results of projects in the programme as well. As in Vindforsk II, the website is an important source of information. This underlines the importance of continuing to support projects to utilise and interact with the reference and steering groups in order to effectively disseminate their results.

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Vindforsk III: An evaluation

Exhibit 3 Assessment of dissemination of results Reference group meetings Board or workgroup meetings

Vindforsks' website Seminars or meetings outside your organisation Newsletters

Seminars or meetings within your organisation 0% VF II

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

VF III

The Vindforsk conference is a highly appreciated activity and an important marketing channel. It provides stakeholders in the sector (not only participating organisations) with an opportunity to keep up with the development in the programme and making it more visible in the sector. This well-attended conference is organised in partnership with the research programme Vindval and Swedish Wind Power Technology Centre. Dissemination of results outside the academia, however, seems to need further improvement. The Vindforsk “brand” is not well known in the sector. Vindforsk is recognised to some extent by most companies involved in wind power but some interviewees suspect that the programme is known mostly by name and that the projects and their results do not reach everybody that could benefit from them.

3.1 Three examples of good practice In the following some projects are described in order to highlight different aspects and benefits of the programme.

3.1.1 Project package "Optimisation and Control of Wind Farms" There have been three project packages in the research area Wind Resource and External Conditions. One of these packages is targeted at the understanding and modelling of wind wakes. The package consists of three Vindforsk projects that form one part of the larger research organisation Nordic Consortium, which is a joint venture between a number of R&D performers and companies representing all the Nordic countries. The Vindforsk projects are carried out by KTH and Gotland University with Vattenfall and Teknikgruppen as the companies most involved in the project package. The main benefit for Vattenfall has been to better understand how offshore wind farms should be built in order to achieve maximum production whilst the stress load on each individual turbine decreases. By engaging in these projects Teknikgruppen, an engineering consultancy, gains access to valuable knowledge that improves the understanding of the problems and issues their clients experience. The international expert panel assesses this research to be at the international frontline with an “impressive competence build-up” through a number of PhD students. The project package has links to other projects within Vindforsk and with international connections through Nordic Consortium. We see good preconditions for establishing a research centre with strong industry relevance, where Vindforsk has been an important part in making it possible.

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

17

3.1.2 Project package “High Frequency Oscillation” The project package “High Frequency Oscillation” within research area 4 consists of two projects, one based at Chalmers and the other at ABB Corporate Research, that have collaborated very closely. The scope of this package has been to analyse high frequency harmonics in the complex cable grids that can be found in many of today’s offshore wind farms. This package stands out as an excellent example of the benefits that can be achieved through cooperation between academia and industry. The knowledge obtained is of great value for both further research and for companies that handle large power systems. ABB also hopes to achieve a better understanding of problems related to high frequency oscillations in the power system in order to provide more effective solutions for their clients. Furthermore, the results will be used as an input to an IEEE working group on new standards. The two projects have shared several research questions and benefitted from each other’s results, thus taking them one step further. The research has resulted in a common Vindforsk report. The theory based project conducted at Chalmers has taken advantage of the well-equipped research facility at ABB Corporate Research, and according to the international expert panel, the results had not been possible to accomplish by the university alone. The public funding and publication of research results makes the results available to other stakeholders, the closest at hand being the members of the common reference group. The funding from the programme has provided financial resources to Chalmers and strong incentives for the researchers at ABB to cooperate and interact with other organisations which together has resulted in industry relevant results.

3.1.3 The project Reliability Modelling and Optimal Maintenance Management for Wind Power Systems The PhD project Reliability Modelling and Optimal Maintenance Management for Wind Power Systems (V-327) covers two main areas, reliability modelling and maintenance modelling and optimisation. It was funded by Vindforsk II, and already in Vindforsk I there was a pilot study on the subject. The international expert panel points out that the project fits very well into the areas addressed by the scientific community in maintenance and operation, and also with the programme objectives. In addition to provide results of generic value, the research has resulted in prototype tools industry recognises as needed. The project is a good example of close collaboration between academia and industry and of knowledge dissemination from research to industry. The PhD candidate works half-time in the company, and has a second supervisor there. This company representative states that he “had to fight to get (the PhD student) involved in company projects – now he is essential for the company”. The international expert panel concludes that the competence in the “science” of generating theories and tools that may be used in practice has increased in the company, i.e., bridging the gap between industry and academia. However, significant implementation of these tools into real maintenance and operation has yet to come through.

18

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

4. Programme strategy Vindforsk is generally regarded as a good way to build bridges between academia and industry. The programme undoubtedly contributes to there being more researchers and more research carried out at some Swedish universities, which in turn is beneficial for PhD training and undergraduate university education. The Vindforsk programme has contributed to build nodes at several universities, such as CTH, KTH and UU. The research group at HGO is relatively new, and is in part a result of previous programme periods. The Vindforsk programme allows the big companies/funders to carry out more longterm R&D projects than they would otherwise engage in. At the same time it is faster and more nimble than EU programmes, and also compared to applying for individual project funding from the Swedish Energy Agency. The programme construction provides a means to decide on research projects in a comparatively straightforward way, where the time from presenting a project proposal to get the project started is shortened. Vindforsk III is seen as a complement to other national R&D programmes or initiatives such as Vindval and SWPTC. As we have seen in section 2.3, the project portfolio is relatively extensive, and covers a wide range of subjects. The portfolio is a mixture of bottom-up and top-down initiatives; there was a call for proposals, and the programme board arranged an initial workshop in order to receive project ideas. This workshop was well attended, and spawned a number of ideas. These were taken care of by the programme board, which proactively through the steering groups worked to create project packages. This process seems to have worked well, although some project packages have not functioned fully as intended. As in previous programme periods, there has been no external evaluation of project proposals. Proposals have been evaluated by the steering groups who have recommended action for decision to the board. This process seems to have worked sufficiently well, according both to interviews and the international expert panel, despite the fact that some programme areas (notably operation and maintenance) have had more problems finding good project proposals. Funding companies participate in the programme for a variety of reasons. Some of the principal funders use the programme to fund projects that are not too close to their products, but rather deal with issues that they can and want to disseminate more broadly. Vindforsk gives the participating companies an opportunity to know what is going on in the sector and an insight into strategically important projects, gives them access to a knowledge base in core areas for their business, as well as in adjacent areas. The companies also see the programme as a good way to collaborate with researchers. As noted elsewhere in this report, the programme is of less importance as a means to access international research or knowledge, and does not play an important role for the actors to access such knowledge that cannot be achieved otherwise. The project portfolio reflects this: there is relatively more focus on issues such as cold climate and forest, and less on offshore related questions. A representative of one of the big participating companies says that this focus of the programme does not, however, fully coincide with the company’s interests and does not reflect the needs of the sector in an international perspective. As also previously noted, the project packages has been a new feature in this the third programme period. Those project packages that have worked well and according to expectations have stimulated and encouraged partnerships between sub-projects – apart from those project packages, collaboration between projects have generally not taken place. One important aspect of the programme is that it provides a neutral ground or meeting place where actors from the sector can meet. This was noted also in the evaluation of the previous programme period, and the programme continues to carry

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

19

out this function. This is furthermore pointed out as a strong feature by the international expert group responsible for the scientific evaluation. One objective of the programme was to allocate 60 % of the budget to projects lead by the universities. In the light of the competence development aspects and the balance between industry and academia, the international experts consider this a reasonable level of ambition. As has been pointed out in section 2.3, this objective has been met. In all, more than three steering group members out of four consider that the benefits from participating in the programme equal or exceed the costs.

20

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

5. Programme efficacy The main funder of Vindforsk is the Swedish Energy Agency, but the administration of the programme is carried out by an external organisation, Elforsk. Usually, the Swedish Energy Agency itself administrates the programmes it funds, but there do exist other examples of programmes that use this model of “out-sourcing” the administration. This practice has worked well in the Vindforsk case, according to the programme manager at the Energy Agency. Elforsk’s role is to administrate the programme which includes strategic work, execution of the board’s decision, budget and project monitoring. Elforsk is also responsible for disseminating results from the programme. The programme administration has consumed about 10 % of the total programme budget, as compared to 12 % for the previous programme period. The fact that the relative administrative costs have decreased from Vindforsk II is worth noting: a bigger and more complex programme structure would, at least initially, lead to an increased administrative burden. With the new additions to Vindforsk III, administration has increased in complexity but at the same time declined as share of the total budget. The cost is also well under the, in many ways similar, forestry industry programme (“Skogsindustriella programmet”) run by Värmeforsk, as indicated by Table 6. Table 6 Comparison of administrative costs Programme

Share of total budget

Vindforsk II

12 %

Vindforsk III

10 %

Skogsindustriella programmet

16 %

The Elforsk administration receives high marks throughout, but some interviewees do point out that it may be suffering from understaffing. In order to manage the programme and at the same time work strategically with it, increased resources may be needed. The Vindforsk executive board consists of representatives from the Swedish Energy Agency, industrial parties and the Swedish national grid operator Svenska Kraftnät. The board consists of eleven members plus the programme manager from Elforsk as adjunct member. The executive board makes decisions on supporting or rejecting projects within the programme and also for approval of final reports. The board has strived for reaching consensus in decisions, according to the interviewed board members. “The meetings are characterised by a good atmosphere”, says one representative.

5.1 The steering groups In addition to the board, there are also steering groups for the research areas 1-4. This is a new feature as of Vindforsk III. The steering groups are intended to ease the work load for the board, and provide more specific competence within the different research areas when reviewing the project proposals. The steering groups review proposals and give recommendations for decisions to the programme board, and they are also responsible for monitoring projects and expected to cooperate with the projects’ reference groups. The steering groups are seen as a welcome and well needed addition to the programme. The board has been able to delegate some tasks and decisions to these groups in order to focus on broader issues. The steering groups have also contributed with valuable expertise in specific areas. The cooperation and interaction between the

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

21

steering groups and the board have been secured through the chairman of each steering group who is also member of the board. One of the first tasks of the steering groups according to the programme plan was to design the calls for proposals within each research area. However, the programme has not had any calls besides the initial one at the Vindforsk workshop (held in March 2009) where the programme was presented. The great majority of proposals were received during this initial phase of the programme period, and 66 project sketches were submitted in relation to this event. The steering groups discussed and evaluated these sketches and in some cases suggested merging project proposals into what became the project packages. As a result of this process, Vindforsk received 33 full proposals in May 2009, out of which 20 were approved (some of them after further revisions). This could be considered rather a high hit rate, and partly explained by the fact that some authors of project sketches did not make full applications after feedback from the workshop. The steering group members were asked in the survey to assess the work carried out in regard to the different tasks that are to be performed. The results are presented in Exhibit 4. The assessment was made on a scale from 1 (very bad) to 5 (very good). The average rating of all tasks is around 3 which could be translated to “ok”. The task that the steering group members believe has worked best is the prioritisation of applications. Commitment and attendance received the lowest rating. This picture somewhat correlates with the interviews which indicated that the level of commitment have varied between the steering groups. Some groups have benefited from committed members and rewarding discussions whilst others have not. This is also the case for the reference groups. These are appointed by the board and intended to be a link between the project and the companies involved as well as to take part of interim results and support the project manager. There seems to be large variations in the level of commitment, but also in the extent to which the project managers interact with the reference group connected with the project. Exhibit 4 Assessment of the steering groups’ work

Prioritisation of received applications

Review of final report

Follow-up of ongoing projects

Engagement/attendance

1

2

3

4

5

Some of the interviewees have commented on the monitoring of on-going projects as an issue that could be improved. The interviewees believe that neither the steering groups nor the board have done enough in securing that the projects proceed and deliver as expected. One suggestion is to give the steering groups a mandate to follow the projects closer in order to be proactive toward projects that lag behind schedule or need to change direction.

22

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

5.2 Project packages As indicated above, another new feature for Vindforsk III is the project packages. The packages consist of several projects that share a common theme, have similar research questions or projects that could benefit from each other’s results. Project packages should also share the same reference group in order to facilitate exchange of results and experiences. In the initial call of Vindforsk III the board and the programme management encouraged the applicants to form and apply for project packages. However, the turnout of proposals did not meet expectations. Several proposals were perceived as too vague in structure and management of the package and others did not fulfil all evaluation criteria set up. The system of project packages has therefore not been carried out to the desired extent. Some of those packages that have been implemented derive from prior cooperation and build upon already established contacts. Others have, at the initiative of the programme administration, been put together from several project proposals with a similar field of interest. These projects have been encouraged to cooperate. The packages were supposed to result in synthesis work but in retrospect we see few examples of this. The participants in several packages are satisfied with this structure and the outcome of the close collaboration. Project packages have the ability to investigate an issue from different perspectives. This is made more effectively in packages as compared with regular projects. It is clear from some of the examples highlighted in section 3.1 that project packages, when executed properly, stimulate cooperation between industry and academia, and that this cooperation can have an impact on results by supporting high level research of great relevance to the industry. In addition, the following advantages of project packages can be observed: 

Project packages help to build up fairly concentrated competence at a larger scale by supporting several projects connected to the same milieu



The system of project packages is regarded by the company representatives on the board to be a good method for keeping detailed decisions about the projects away from the board meetings and outsource it to the steering groups



Project packages improve the long-term perspective of the projects, which makes it easier for the programme to recruit PhD students

Although the project packages generally receive high marks, the interviews raise some issues of concern: 

Packages form larger organisations with potentially more participating organisations, making the project management more complicated and complex



Projects with close collaboration can become dependent of each other’s results which could be problematic if one project lags behind the time schedule



Too much focus on project packages could displace individual projects that could be implemented on a smaller scale



It is hard to combine different projects into working packages. The packages has to be planned at an early stage with close involvement by the applicants

5.3 Ideas for future programme periods There is general agreement among the interviewees that Vindforsk works well. However, some suggestions for future programme periods have been highlighted in interviews and in the survey. 

The programme period is not optimal in all aspects. To make it easier for PhD students to participate in the programme, some interviewees believe that the

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

23

programme period should be longer, or more flexible towards starting long term projects later in the programme period 

Some company representatives wish for the programme to support shorter, more applied projects whilst others prefer an emphasis on long-term projects. This divergence may reflect the companies’ different investment in and commitment to the programme, but it probably also reflects each company’s relation to the knowledge development in the programme. For some companies the programme caters for issues of more or less immediate relevance for their product development, for others the programme concerns more long-term questions where the company itself continues to develop the results in-house before commercialization



Another issue raised is that there should be a larger amount of external representatives in the board. Preferably with scientific expertise or someone with a good understanding of the preconditions of the academia

24

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

6. Objectives fulfilment 6.1 Fulfilment of programme objectives Vindforsk III has had five objectives. To what extent have the objectives been met? Evidence from this evaluation suggests the following: Produce generalizable results concerning wind energy characteristics and opportunities There is little doubt that Vindforsk does this well, and this programme period has seen interesting results, in particular concerning issues related to cold climate. Members of the steering groups are decidedly satisfied with the programme in this respect. Conduct research at the international forefront within a number of technology areas Sweden does not overall hold a top position in wind energy research, which is less of a surprise considering the relative importance until recently of this technology nationally. According to the international experts, however, some research of high international level is carried out in all programme areas in Vindforsk III. In order to preserve and strengthen the skills of existing research groups at universities and engineering consultants This is one of the strong points of the programme. Vindforsk definitely contributes to strengthening existing research groups, e.g. the Nordic Consortium (KTH/HGO). It is less clear to what extent the skills of engineering consultants are strengthened. Strengthen the recruitment base for Swedish wind power industry This is another strong point, and Vindforsk constitutes an important long term contribution to Swedish wind power industry. Funding university groups strengthens research, which in turn is positive for undergraduate education. Also, the programme’s strong links to industry makes for research and, subsequently, undergraduate education, of high industrial relevance. More directly, ten PhD students have been involved in the Vindforsk III programme. Make wind energy research visible and disseminate its results There is room for improvement by making Vindforsk more well-known in the industry, not only in academia. It is a joint responsibility between the programme administration, the Board and the project participants. The conference, newsletters, project participants’ own organisations and networks – what is being done, is considered to be done well. Vindforsk is a complement to other research initiatives – not a competitor.

6.2 Fulfilment of success criteria identified for Vindforsk III For this programme period, the programme board identified three success criteria. To what extent has the programme fulfilled these? The stakeholders should have great benefit from the networking, outcomes and skills Vindforsk offers This is certainly the case. The Vindforsk programme offers a common ground that would otherwise be difficult to create and maintain, and the research carried out is per definition relevant to the stakeholders. We have noted that interest and, in consequence, actual achieved benefit varies between stakeholders. The stakeholders should be actively involved in the board of directors, steering groups and during the implementation of projects Here, the picture is less clear-cut. The main stakeholders are the ones that are most committed, and commitment wanes as direct contribution to the programme budget decreases. This in itself is hardly surprising, but the fact that not all steering group

Vindforsk III: An evaluation

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members are fully committed and that several of the reference groups are underused or simply not active should be treated as a warning sign. There should be a mutual exchange and benefit between the stakeholders and the research environments at the universities This undoubtedly seems to be the case in those collaboration projects that have been studied.

6.3 Fulfilment of the objectives of the Swedish Energy Agency The mission of the Swedish Energy Agency, the government agency for national energy policy issues, is to promote the development of Sweden’s energy system so that it will become ecologically and economically sustainable. This means that energy must be available at competitive prices and that energy generation must make the least possible impact on people and the environment. In the field of energy research and innovation, the Agency has two overriding objectives: to build knowledge to facilitate the conversion to a long-term sustainable energy system, and to develop technology and services that through commercialisation in Swedish industry can contribute to the conversion and development of the energy system. Funding 50 % of Vindforsk, the Swedish Energy Agency is the main contributor to the programme. The Swedish Energy Agency is also represented in the programme board and the steering groups. Considering the Agency’s mission and its strong financial involvement on the Vindforsk programme, the question is to what extent the programme has contributed to the fulfilment of the Energy Agency's mandate in the field of energy research and innovation? The evidence from the evaluation suggests the following: To build knowledge to facilitate the conversion to a long-term sustainable energy system Vindforsk promotes wind power and creates demand for industry relevant research in academia. Supporting the research environments in this area at the Swedish universities strengthens the quality of the undergraduate education, which is important for building necessary competence considering the strong expansion of wind power currently taking place in the country. To develop technology and services that through commercialisation in Swedish industry can contribute to the conversion and development of the energy system Largely, this is not the focus of the programme and effects of this kind still lie mainly in the future. The programme emphasises knowledge building and methods rather than technology and services. Some of the specific results presented are implemented by a Swedish company – but abroad.

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7. Reflection The Vindforsk programme has many strong features, and evidence from this evaluation shows that the third programme period in several aspects has improved compared with previous periods. Two new elements, the steering groups and the bundling of some projects into project packages, have decidedly contributed to this. The steering groups have improved the preparation of project proposals that reach the programme board for decision. This has alleviated the work load for the board, at the same time as project ideas are developed and prepared before decision in a way they were not before. The steering groups have the required domain knowledge to guarantee that projects that reach the board for decision are of sufficient scientific quality. That said, the international expert panel would like to see representatives from academia in the steering groups arguing that long term scientific achievements are suffering from the short term need of results required by the industry. Strengthening the academic level of the steering groups would furthermore serve to emphasise the scientific aspect also of those projects that are not a priori scientific studies. Some criticism has been raised concerning the commitment of steering group members: not all of them have participated as expected, neither in preparing sufficiently for the meetings nor, indeed, attending them. The process of selecting members for the steering groups and anchoring their future commitment needs to be addressed in order to further improve a most valuable programme instrument. Much the same could be said about the perceived lack of commitment from some reference groups, and some project leaders’ lack of enthusiasm about having a reference group to interact with. The project packages is a good initiative that has worked very well in some cases, and not at all in some others. Those project packages that have worked best are those that build on previous collaborations and networks. This indicates that the packages that are organic rather than constructed run a better chance of success. The packages also need to have common objectives that are compatible in time, which indicates a need for a stronger leadership and steering. Project packages require a certain amount of planning, and experienced and dedicated package leaders. The Vindforsk III programme consists of more than 50 projects in five programme areas. Continued development of the concept of project packages could be one way to facilitate a certain amount of concentration and focussing. Although the programme administration receives high ratings overall, many programme participants feel that the dissemination of results could be improved. We have received indications that this could be the result of the programme administration being understaffed. Also there are requests for the administration to conduct an international outlook on the field of wind research in order to make Vindforsk more relevant in an international perspective. One could argue that increased resources may need to be allocated for the multitasking expected from the programme administration: this is simultaneously expected to improve the dissemination of results and make Vindforsk more visible, extend the international ambitions of the programme, run the day-to-day administration of the programme and work strategically to develop it. Most programme and project participants are also satisfied with the programme. They feel that their “return on investment” is good and, on the whole, as could be expected. This is perhaps not altogether surprising, as they have vested interests. However, it is worth underlining that there is a relation between the commitment to the programme and the perceived value of it to the own organisation. This raises an issue that echoes from the previous evaluation: the added value of being a co-funder of the programme is clearly not the same for everyone concerned.

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Some voices have raised the issue that the programme largely benefits already active players in the field. This is itself hardly a strong objection to how the programme is run, since one objective of Vindforsk III has been to preserve and strengthen the skills of existing research groups, but it could be argued that the programme – and Swedish wind energy research – would benefit from a larger influx of people and ideas from other areas. One way to encourage new players and inputs could be through the introduction of a pot system where a certain percentage of the programme budget is earmarked for transversal or “innovative” project proposals. Examples of how this could be organised can be found in some of the industrial research programmes administered by Vinnova. This would probably mean an additional administrative burden and, subsequently, an increased programme administration. Whether this is beneficial to the overall objectives of the programme would need careful consideration.

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Appendix A Scientific evaluation

A.1 Introduction Vindforsk III is a four-year research programme that continues the Vindforsk I and II programmes. The total budget for research and development is SEK 80 million.

A.2 The vision and objectives A.2.1 Vision and purpose Wind energy will be an essential part of the power system and therefore an important part of the electricity supply. There will be a long-term competence built up in a number of Swedish universities and companies to ensure the maintenance of knowledge in wind power technology at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The research findings will contribute to increased competitiveness in the market. The program aims to increase the awareness of wind energy related issues and to strengthen the base for Swedish wind power expertise. This knowledge will lead to wind power is implemented and operated effectively in the Swedish power system and create conditions for a Swedish industry in the area. A.2.2 Objectives The overall objective of Vindforsk is to strengthen the conditions for building and operating wind power by: 

producing generalizable results concerning wind energy characteristics and opportunities



conducting research at the international forefront within a number of technology areas to preserve and strengthen the skills of existing research groups at universities and engineering consultants

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strengthening the recruitment base for Swedish wind power industry, and

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making wind energy research visible and disseminate its results.

A.3 Evaluation process The scientific evaluators were Liisa Haarla (Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering, Finland), Søren Eiling Larsen (DTU, Denmark) and Jørn Vatn (NTNU, Norway). The specific fields of the evaluators were the following: Søren Eiling Larsen: the wind resource and external conditions and cost-effective plants, programme areas 1 and 2 (the wind resource and external conditions (eg ice), Loads and cost effective plants and project planning) Jørn Vatn: Maintenance and operation, programme activity 3 (maintenance and operation). He participated as of Tuesdaay evening till Friday afternoon. Liisa Haarla: wind power in the power systems, program area 4 (wind power in the power system) Anders Björck from Elforsk has helped with the practical arrangement such delivering the reports and reserving the hotels.

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A.4 The task of the evaluators The evaluation is divided in two parts. One part evaluates the programme from an industrial and relevance perspective. This appendix is the second part, a scientific evaluation of the research projects. The aim is to use the evaluation in the final planning for a new phase of Vindforsk. The aim is to have a “general evaluator” that holds together the final evaluation report as described in the section organisation of the work.

A.5 Organization of the evaluation The scientific evaluation was carried out 7-11 May 2012. During this week the scientific evaluators stayed in Stockholm area. Interviews with project leaders and research groups with visits to universities have taken place during that period. The scientific evaluators have written their report during this evaluation and gave their evaluation report on Friday May 11. The scientific evaluators together cover knowledge of the three areas of programme activities. The evaluators have a basic capacity of reading material also in Swedish. The process included two phases: 

Reading the reports, seminar presentations, and project descriptions before and during the evaluation week.



Interviews and discussions with project scientist and students during the evaluation week.



The scientific evaluators presented preliminary results and discussed their observations with the programme board on the last day.

The evaluators focused on the following issues, provided by Vindforsk: general issues, scientific quality, industrial relevance, project portfolio, structure with the project packages, impact on wind energy competence, international cooperation, selection and decision processes. The results are based on the conclusions of the interviews and discussion that have focused on the issues listed below. The process has taken five days and therefore, a thorough scientific evaluation has not been possible. In spite of that, we have been able to get an impression of the level on the basis of the information we have observed.

A.6 Evaluation of the research programme A.6.1 Structure of the program The management of the research programme has executed with a programme executive board and steering groups for the activities. The Vindforsk executive board consists of representatives from the Swedish Energy Agency and industrial parties and Svenska Kraftnät. The board consists of eleven members plus the programme manager from Elforsk as adjunct member. The executive board makes decisions on supporting or rejecting projects within the programme and also for the approval of final reports. In addition to the board, steering groups work on for the activity areas 1-4. The steering groups assist in evaluation applications to the program and give recommendations to the programme board. The steering groups also assist in following up of projects and are a link to project reference groups. The board has industry and administrative representatives but no scientific members. We find that to some extent challenging since the board selected the projects and it is a risk that in the project selection the short term industrial interests are favoured over the long-term scientific objectives. Elforsk’s role is to administrate the programme which includes strategic work, the execution of the decisions of the board, budget and project monitoring. Elforsk is also responsible for disseminating results from the programme as well etc. Elforsk is called in on the board, but has no voting mandate.

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For more information please visit www.vindforsk.se (in Swedish only). A.6.2 Project packages The objective was that each activity area should have one or more project packages. The project packages include the projects. The intention was to organize the program areas into project packages. This has been done for program area 1&2 (3 packages), and for program area 4 (3 packages). The total number of projects launched in the project are 16 (1&2) + 9 (3) + 17 (4) + 3 (5) = 45. The budget indicated the relative distribution of activity areas such that the forest and icing together were about half of the budget, power systems a third of the budget while maintenance was some ten percent and the standardization five percent. The activity area 'Maintenance and operation' seemed to be a new area and the steering group had to encourage the applications. The activity of the board therefore made the programme more balanced that it would have been without the active interference of the board group. A.6.3 The relevance of the activity areas The environmental conditions were strongly focused on wind conditions over forests with respect to both resources and wind loadings. We come to the obvious reasons that Sweden has forested areas with potential for wind farm installations. Additionally, ice conditions were chosen because of industry favoured it. There is a lot of possible wind power potential in Northern Sweden but icing is a problem. The connection if IEA Task 19 on 'wind power in cold climate' has brought international experience to this activity area, which is beneficial for the research. The next largest activity was connected with wind power in power systems. Because the wind farms will be connected to electrical grids, this activity is relevant. There are some 45 000 MW wind power investment plans in Sweden. Compared to the Swedish peak load, 28 000 MW, this is a large number. Operation and maintenance is a smaller activity area with nine projects. There were some difficulties in getting the failure rate and other reliability data, which is a common feature in maintenance research. The data is often considered confidential. Anyway, this research area can be a good start for this kind of research. A.6.4 Observations In the following we list some general observations found during the various interviews and discussion which do not fit into the explicit discussion regarding the various program areas. The objective of the programme was to allocate 60% of the budget to projects at the universities. This seems reasonable in light of the competence development aspects, and the balance between industry and academia. From the industry point of view it seems the project has been beneficial. As an example, Elisabeth Norgren from Svenska Kraftnät stated that SvK has learned a great deal, not so much about the exact solutions but about the phenomena and the problems connected to wind power. If we look at the institutions, KTH has the largest share of the funding, which comes from the fact it has a lot of activity in the wind power area such as power systems and mechanical engineering. KTH had two big research groups in Vindforsk: power systems and mechanical engineering. These groups had several projects and also several other sources of research funding. They act as a locomotive in a cluster of research and industrial groups within Sweden, which seems to be successful and fulfil the Vindforsk objectives. Co-operation between different institutions and work packages was actively encouraged. For example, Uppsala University strengthened its cooperation with KTH and both partners found it very useful and it broadened their understanding in wind and icing dynamics. It was also observed that academia and industry were able to

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establish fruitful cooperation, e.g., Chalmers and ABB and the high frequency oscillation project. In this respect, Vindforsk has reached its objectives and strengthened the cooperation between the Swedish parties and thereby have strengthened the technical competence in Sweden.

A.7 Evaluation of projects areas The following section gives the detailed comment to the scientific level of the projects being evaluated. The evaluation is split into three sections each covering the fields of expertise of the evaluators. The structure of the evaluation is not identical, reflecting that the research areas are not equally organized, e.g., work packages are only introduced in some project areas.

A.8 The wind resource and external conditions (1&2) Facts: This program area has launched 16 projects of which 8 have been evaluated. Altogether there are 3 program packages within this program area. Total budget was approximately MSEK 29.5. The wind resources and external conditions program area comprises three work packages focused on: Wind climate over a forest, the climatology of overicing and the characteristics of wakes. The two first packages reflect an interest in Sweden for establishing wind power in forested areas and in cold climate, where icing problems is a serious problem, the last project package is focus more on the modelling and descriptions of wakes and turbulence from wind turbines and wind farms, with application to wind farm control. All project packages are anchored within university groups, with participation of industry, and with participation from international groups or strong links to these. Also all groups involve PhD students so the spreading of competence is appreciable. The work conducted within the different projects has more or less relevance for the wind energy applications worldwide, but all is certainly of relevance for Sweden, and have been selected by the VIndforsk board for that reason. A.8.1 project package: 1 The wind climate over forest project package has one project number only: V-312. There are presently many uncertainties about both mean flow and turbulence climatology over a forest, both from a theoretical and an experimental point of view. The activity of the group has proceeded along several lines, 1) Monitoring with high quality instruments from two sites, one with an unique 140 m mast, allowing to reach all the way through the forest interfacial layer, and another with a smaller 40 meter mast, focusing more on canopy flows. 2) Physical modelling in a wind tunnel at KTH , from which data were compared with both atmospheric sites and numerical modelling. The results of the activity have so far been quite successful with several papers already being submitted, and with possibly a unique quality controlled database base from the forest measurement being on the way. The project package involves in Sweden researchers from two universities, two companies, and one PhD student, while also international groups participate, so it has certainly developed data and competence about the wind climate over forests in Sweden and throughout the world as well. The results obtained should be able to form the nucleus for further increasing our knowledge about the subject in the coming years, with the international interest already present. A.8.2 project package: 2 The project package is focused on icing problems, both from the point of view of theory, climate forecasts and monitoring. The project package comprises three project numbers V-313( Wind Power in cold climates)and V-363 (Measurements of overicing), and additionally V-338(IEA R&D Task 19, Wind power in Cold Climate). The first of

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these objectives to establish procedures for forecasting the importance of overicing for the wind farm production and loads for specific sites. Parallel with this the second project seeks to evaluate methods to conduct measurements of overicing, while the third one supports Swedish participation in IEA and act to collect data, profile the Swedish activities. To the reduction of production and load issues, it adds as well the dangers from ice throws. Progress has been made in all three projects, both with modelling, data gathering, and evaluation of state of art. However, the two first projects leave the participant and the reviewers with the impression that overicing from both modelling and measurement view are too complicated for the ambitions to which comes the difficulties of inferring production loss and loads from overicing. However, the researchers should be encouraged strongly to publish their experience with the difficulties, and the results they have obtained, in spite, because the knowledge gained still appears important and frontline. The project package has widened the competence on the area, by joining participants from university (incl. one PhD student), with several companies, and with the international links to the IEA work. Additional international links are secured by participation in the Nordic TFI project ICEWIND. It can be noted that the specific overicing problems over water seems not to be included in the study. In spite of its difficulties the icing problem is of obvious interest for wind power development in cold climate, and the efforts should be continued at some level. A.8.3 project package: 3 In the two first project packages, Vindforsk has been instrumental in forming the project package, while the present package 3 is more characterized by that the projects all are anchored at strong university department KTH MEK, with its expertise within wake modeling and experimental and theoretical Fluid dynamics. The key research element within the projects of the group is aimed to understanding and modeling of the wakes and wake induced turbulence in wind farms, and to apply this knowledge. Within this area the group must be considered international frontline. The projects involved are V-333 (optimization and wind farm control), V-355 (IEA Wakebench), V374 (Farm Farm interaction). The participating people are part of a Nordic Consortium for optimization and controls of wind farms, involving participants from also Denmark, and the center contained 15 senior researchers and 6 PhD students. Additionally the projects involve as well participants from the industry (consultant), seeking to implement the results in simpler and faster models, and the owner of Lillgrund Windfarm, that had become a test ground for the Nordic Center. The center additionally has links to project package 2, through the TFI project ICEWIND, and to the forest wind project, through the wind tunnels and numerical modelling part of this project. The competence build up is impressive through the number of PhD students, the international links and the presence of industry. Additionally, a strong Swedish center is emerging involving KTH MEK, KTH EL, Uppsala University, with the continued presence of industry like Teknikgruppen and wind farm owners. Also the research theme is likely to stay very important for wind farm development for some time. Another approach to the wake modeling were presented by the Norwegian Agder Energy, outside project package 3: (V-366, Instant Wind), but also focusing on wake modelling, this time a fast approximate method, based on expansion of the CFD methodology. The approach is innovative. In its present stage, it is difficult to evaluate how successful it will be, but fast accurate versions of the wake modelling are certainly being developed by many groups today.

A.9 Operation and maintenance (3) Facts: This program area has launched 9 projects of which 4 have been evaluated. This program area was not organized in terms of program packages. Total budget was approximately MSEK 6.5. The scientific field of maintenance and operation is characterized by a huge gap between theory and practice. The scientific literature on maintenance is to a great

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extent addressing maintenance optimization. This is often formulated as a mathematical problem where the aim is to minimize overall cost related to maintenance and operation. In practice these methods are not used very much. A survey was conducted by Dekker (1996) where the main conclusion is that there is a mismatch between what is obtained in the scientific community compared to what is really being implemented in the industry. An overall objective of a research program such as Vindforsk should therefore be to bridge the gap between academia and practice. Scientific quality. A typical scientific paper in this field is often characterized by the following: A particular situation or system is considered for which there exist no obvious modelling approach that covers relevant framing conditions for this situation or system. For the particular situation or system these framing conditions and other relevant aspects are analysed and formalized as part of the optimization problem. The final objective is then to find a way to solve the optimization problem. The quality of such a contribution is then mainly defined by whether the work has succeeded in publishing of the results, and if so, related to the relevance of the situation being analysed, and how far the problem has been elaborated. A related scientific area is collection and analysis of reliability and maintenance data relevant for the maintenance optimization models. Although statistical analysis of data is a separate scientific field, it has strong links to the maintenance area. Two major challenges are often encountered in relation to collection and analysis of reliability data in order to estimate parameters to be used in the mathematical models: (i) Usually the most relevant data is collected through the computerized maintenance and management system (CMMS) and separate online condition monitoring system (CMS). Generally these systems are not configured in an optimal way which makes it easy to estimate the required parameters in the maintenance optimization models. Typical challenges is that failure information is not recorded on the so-called “maintenance significant items” and further the connection between CMMS and CMS is not very transparent. (ii) The second main challenge is that manufacturer of the system often protect the data, and are not willing to share the data, and even the operator of a plant is often struggling to get access to data for his own system. A main scientific challenge in this area is primarily related to defining how data should be collected in order to give a reasonable ratio between the value of the data and the cost of collecting the data. The second challenge relates to which statistical methods exist, and demonstrating these on existing data. Often this is also linked to the challenge to incorporate statements from experts (“expert judgments and Bayesian methods”). Competence development. As indicated in the introduction this field is characterized by a huge gap between theory and practice. Competence development must therefore be evaluated from three angels. From a research point of view the first objective is to ensure that universities and research institutes develop their general competence in order to be able to contribute scientifically in this field. The second objective is to develop competence in the industry so that the academic results obtained could be applied in real situations. The final but a very important objective is to develop competence in bridging the gap between theory and practise. This means to establish arenas where the developers of methods and tools can discuss with the end users of these tools, i.e., maintenance planners in the industry. Program relevance. In the Vindforsk program description the following issues are addressed in the area of maintenance and operation: The overall objective of the research in this programme area is to improve system reliability, reduce maintenance and operational cost, and increase safety. To achieve this overall objective the following sub objectives are formulated: (i) Establish maintenance strategies that takes into account that a wind farm cannot always be accessed for maintenance and repair, (ii) establish general maintenance management models that are applicable for the industry, (iii) establish maintenance models taking spare parts and logistics into account, (iv) life length estimation, and elaboration and failure causes, (v) methods to apply during design and operation in order to reduce the need for maintenance and increase safety and reliability, (vi) develop tools for maintenance management

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including CMS and automatic diagnosis. In the following four projects are evaluated in light of the mentioned challenges in the field of maintenance and operations. V-327 Reliability modeling and optimal maintenance management for wind power systems Background and objective: This project is a PhD project aiming to cover two main areas, reliability modelling and maintenance modelling and optimization. The objective of the reliability modelling was essentially to elaborate on non-observable deterioration, deterioration which is directly observable by inspection, and deterioration which is indirectly observable and therefore fit for condition monitoring, and finally methods related to pattern recognition and prognosis models. The objective of the maintenance optimization part of the project is related to single component optimization issues for various levels of “observability” of deterioration, cost benefit of condition monitoring, multicomponent aspects related to grouping and finally spare parts optimization and logistic issues. Evaluation: There is no doubt that the project objectives fit very well into those areas addressed by the scientific community in maintenance and operation, and it also fits very well to the programme objective. It seems that the project has put less emphasize on the reliability issue compared to the maintenance optimization part. Those aspects addressed in the optimization part seem to have a high international scientific standard. In addition to provide results of generic value, the research has also resulted in prototype tools which by the industry are recognized as something that is needed. Although we have not yet seen a significant implementation of these tools into real maintenance and operation, the statement from the industry partner is convincing. The project has demonstrated international cooperation in that the Life Cycle Cost model tool by ECN has been used, and there are discussions on further cooperation on tools and ways to merge methods obtained in the project with the commercial toolbox of ECN. The project has definitively served as a mean to increase the knowledge base. Basically this is achieved by the PhD as such, but also as being a part of a cluster of PhD/Post.Doc projects at Chalmers. Further the candidate has got a position in the cooperating industry company which also serves as a means to distribute the knowledge to the industry. Finally the cooperation between the PhD candidate and the industry seems to have increased the competence in the “science” of generating theories and tools that may be used in practice, i.e., bridging the gap between industry and academia. Recommendation for further investigation from a scientific perspective is to investigate the retaliation between tools based on Discrete Event Simulation (stochastic simulation) compared to analytical methods developed in the project. It is observed that the number of publication from the project is not very high. V-365 Wind turbine stethoscope. Acoustic emission measurement Background and objective: The objective of this project is to present a concept for remote surveillance of wind turbine components by means of acoustic emission stethoscope techniques. Evaluation: This project is considered to be a non-scientific project but more a feasibility study of future concepts to reduce maintenance cost and increase safety and reliability. This project does therefore not explicitly demonstrate relevance to the program objectives. The idea of using acoustic emission as a notification system that could replace processing intensive systems based on e.g., accelerometer seems promising and supports indirectly the program objectives. The preliminary results indicate that the idea is possible to implement utilizing existing technology and transmission capabilities by internet technology. If penetration into the marked succeeds significant cost reduction and increased reliability and safety is seen realistic. It is, however, to be notified that the scientific set-up of the project is not very strong. An open question is how reliable the proposed techniques are wrt being able to detect early faults. Although the use of acoustic emission is based on measuring the energies that are causing degradation it is believed that a more systematic investigation into the area will be required to give more scientific support of these ideas. The project does

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not seem to have a huge impact on competence build up except for the knowledge achieved as a direct result of the project. This project is considered to be a feasibility study that mainly serves the issue of pushing the actors in the field of condition monitoring to be more innovative rather than a research project. V-367 Oil cleanliness in wind power gearboxes Background and objective: The project objective is to provide relevant information and propose effective solutions in terms of oil cleanliness. The work is seen as a an effort to compile important knowledge so that it could be made available to the industry which seems to be on a varying level with respect to oil cleanliness understanding. Evaluation: The project therefore contributes to the competence building primarily to the practician rather than to academia. To some extent the project also aims at achieving empirical result by comparing two filters with respect to their capability to filter out small particles. However, the experimental design for this does not seem to take into account e.g., variability in the filters (from filter to filter), hence the reliability of the study is questionable. Although the scientific contribution from the project is limited, the knowledge achieved is expected to increase the general competence level, and thus lead to increased understanding regarding oil cleanliness and thus contribute to gearbox life extension. V-375 ConFail, Investigation of converter failures in offshore wind turbines Background and objective: It is observed a very high failure frequency of converters used in offshore wind turbines. The main objective of the study is to investigate root causes which then may be used to identify measures to improve the situation. The project is therefore indirectly linked to the main objective of the program, namely to increase plant availability and reduce maintenance costs. The project has been able to establish contact with the car industry which means that synergies between industries may be achieved, and hence competence build-up is expected to be higher than the pure budget would indicate. Evaluation: Although the project does not aim at providing generic new knowledge, it has a reasonable scientific set-up where the main problem of a high failure rate is investigated both by using available data, utilizing expertise and finally look into “the physics” of the problem. During the project presentation it was pointed out that lack of access to relevant data due to confidentiality arguments is a problem. This is in accordance with what is seen as a general problem in the maintenance and operation area. The project has raised hypothesis regarding what might be the causes why offshore converters experience a high failure rate. However, it remains to be more explicit on linking identified root causes back to conditions that are evident for offshore wind turbines. Preliminary results indicate a higher failure rate in summer months/autumn but it remains to link this to causes that could explain this pattern. On a very generic level the project may contribute to the “root cause methodology” described in a nut-shell: (i) A problem is experienced. (ii) In order to get more insight into the problem a systematic root cause analysis is proposed, but (iii) it is not always clear what is meant by a systematic root cause analysis. It is therefore also recommended that the project reflect on the methodological approach to the problem. A.9.1 General comments to the project area maintenance and operation The project area has launched altogether nine projects. All projects seem to be relevant for the program area. The projects V-316 and V-327 seems to have the highest level of scientific interest if we consider the objective to achieve new generic knowledge. During interviews it was revealed that it was a challenge to get good project proposals in the area of maintenance and operation. This is not a surprise because the maintenance and operation area is often considered to be a rather non-scientific field at least when it comes to practical implementation of results. During interview it was also clear that the steering group was critical to one of the most “scientific” project, i.e., V-327, and several iterations were required to come to an agreed scope of work.

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This addresses two points: (i) The first is related to how the steering groups are organized. It seems that representatives from academia is missing in these steering groups, hence long term scientific achievements are suffering from the short term need of results required by the industry. It should also be emphasised that strengthening the academic level in the steering group also could serve as a means to emphasise the scientific aspect of each project even though the project as such is not a scientific study. This applies for example to both V-365 and V-367 being investigated where a scientific view on the proposed project could also have contributed to yield more generic results as discussed above. (ii) The second point is that the situation is not that bad. For example even though project V-327 was struggling to be launched, the results seem very promising. The industry partner is very satisfied with the project. This means that there is a potential to “bridge the gap” between academia and practice. It is also to be mentioned that some of the manufactures have seen Vindforsk as an arena “free from obligations” where ideas may be discussed with their competitors and clients. In the maintenance and operation area this attitude should be empowered in such a way that the manufactures also become more willing to share reliability data to the best of the industry. Today the confidentiality issue on failure causes and reliability data is seen as a barrier to decrease maintenance cost and increase safety and reliability. This has also been mentioned several times during the project presentations.

A.10 Wind power in the power system (4) Facts: This program area has launched 16 projects of which 11 have been evaluated. Altogether there are 3 program packages within this program area. Total budget was approximately MSEK 19.5. This area had both industry and academia projects. Nowadays, there is a lot of research in different areas of wind power in power systems. This programme area is relevant in the aspect that modern wind power plants are connected to grids. Large scale wind power will change many power system issues, e.g. dynamics and market issues and there certainly is a need for research. As an evaluator, I know the system level issues best, such as balancing and stability and I am less familiar with harmonics, low voltage grids, and wind generators. A.10.1 Project package 'High-frequency and oscillations' The project package addresses both harmonics and high frequency oscillations associated with wind parks. The projects in the project package were not very closely connected but had common steering groups. V-306 Harmonic distortion and wind power installations The research objectives are to develop methods for measuring the harmonics, find resonances connected to large wind farms, find out what kind of harmonics wind turbines and converters produce to the grid, and find levels of harmonics in the main and regional grid. In the project, the harmonic emissions of four different wind generator types were measured and analysed. The purpose is to develop a mathematical model for the propagation of the harmonics via the converters. Relevance The problems in high frequency harmonics seem to be relevant in the sense that a larger share of harmonics may deteriorate the power quality. The grid operators have the responsibility to take care of the power quality and therefore understanding of the power quality changes is a relevant issue with more wind power. The project was scientific rather than industrial, the results were interesting but I cannot evaluate how relevant the harmonic problem is in real installations. Scientific quality Power electronic devices are known to produce harmonics and their operation is wellknown. Wind power generators (behind the power electronic converters) generate harmonics but it is not well-known how these harmonics pass the converters and how these harmonics propagate into the grid. The results show that non-harmonic low

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band and broadband emissions are specific for wind turbines. According to the analyses, the combined emission of several turbines is lower than the sum of the emissions of individual turbines would be. The measurements of harmonics emitted by wind turbines give valuable information on the subject and scientific analyses can reveal the causes and help to create methods for simulating the impact of different installations (double fed induction generators or full converter synchronous generators) on the harmonic contents. With this knowledge it is then possible to mitigate the amount of harmonics. There has been simulation or measurements on wind power harmonics but not so much research on the causes of the harmonics, which also here remains an unsolved question and a possible future research area. The measurements in this project revealed that different wind generators generate different harmonics, especially the broad band harmonics are different from compared with the harmonics of today's grid. There is not necessarily a difference between a DFIG and a full converter generator; they can create similar harmonics. The results also reveal the correlation with the harmonics but the reasons for correlations are not yet known. Competence development For the research group of Math Bollen the work in project V-306 broadened its competence from power quality and harmonics into wind power. The project has produced several conference and journal articles and a licentiate thesis 'Wind-Turbine Harmonic Emissions and Propagation through A Wind Farm'. The project of Math Bollen has produced several conference papers, and submitted journal papers, which tells about the scientific quality of the work. ' V-325 High frequency transients in large off-shore wind farms and V-326 High frequency transients in large wind farm: advanced measurement and characterization The offshore wind farms with cables provide different high frequency transients since there are many cables, with the length of tens of kilometres. In extreme cases, the repetitive overvoltages generated in off-shore wind farms have such high frequencies that they are not covered in IEEE standards. Relevance The high frequency transients in wind farm cable dominated grids can result in higher amplitudes of overvoltages than present standards mention. The oscillations affect the interaction between electrical apparatus and power systems. This subject brought new knowledge about high frequency oscillations in cable-dominated off-shore ac grids and may bring new topics into international standards as well. Scientific quality The main achievements of project V-325 are: •

an improved component modelling method,

•

checking present environment towards existing standards,

•

establishing the protection needs,

•

signal characterization (scanning the signals),

•

voltage oscillations during HF currents.

The existing IEC-transformer standards do not cover such high frequency overvoltages since the highest frequencies in standards are for lightning strokes. The analysis of high frequency transients in off-shore wind farms concentrated on measuring, simulating and analysing very high frequencies connected to cable dominated grids such as an internal grid of an off-shore wind park.

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In this project, Chalmers concentrated on developing the theory and models while ABB had excellent laboratory facilities (ABB's wind cable laboratory) and the cooperation between the academy and industry therefore brought scientifically satisfying results that would not have been possible in the university or utility alone. The deliverables include a doctoral thesis, and several scientific articles. For Chalmers Vindforsk funding has been essential. If the work was funded by ABB, Chalmers would be like a consultant and the scientific results might not be as good as they are in this project. In this way, the money from the society and the co-operation between the industry academia can be regarded as an excellent solution. Competence development ABB and Chalmers have co-operated in the project in several ways (e.g. research visits), which has brought very good results combining the theoretical models with real measurements. The co-operation has included several parties: ABB, Chalmers, Vattenfall, and Vestas. The reasons for a good co-operation are (according to the interviews) •

The main objectives were similar and there were common interests

•

Chalmers really benefited from ABB and its laboratory

• Chalmers already had a very good co-operation with ABB before, which means that people already knew each other already in the start there was interaction • The reference group meeting helped since it was possible to contact the reference group people also between the ref group meetings. The reference group gave good engineering comments. The high frequency analyses in projects V-325 and V-326 have brought both internationals and national competence what it comes to very high transients caused by cable dominated grids. The results are and will be published in scientific publications, conference presentations and in a workshop. In the future, a CIGRE brochure with a chapter of wind transients will appear. This means that results get a large international audience. Being involved in a CIGRE working group for three years has created a very good network. Several new competent people have been educated since there have been several thesis workers. This work continues; at the moment there are four Master of Science projects going on at Chalmers. For ABB, Vindforsk is “like the glue”, not so much resources, rather a way for bringing the commitment and providing co-operation. The collaboration has been different than with mutual projects. The sharing of information is different: there is more information sharing in reference groups than in mutual projects. V-354 Power quality in the 130 kV connection point of a wind farm The general objective of project V-354 is to harmonize grid codes since at the moment different grid operators have different requirements, which is not good for wind farm providers. Relevance and scientific quality This third project in the project package 'High-frequency and oscillations' is more an industry project that has a practical interest to formulate common harmonised grid code requirements about power quality. The objective in the project 'Power quality in the 130 kV connection point of a wind farm' is to develop relevant harmonised power quality requirements and thus create possibilities for the grid operators to use these requirements when they update their grid codes. The motivation is the fact that different regional grid operators have different power quality requirements for wind farms, which is a problem for wind farm providers. It would be better to have common rather than different grid codes in a country unless the grids really have different

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technical properties. The relevance in evident and the practical results can help in creating better and more coherent grid codes to Sweden. Competence development This project has already provided valuable information and connections between local grid operators in Sweden. It is recommended that in order to benefit from the work already done, Vindforsk (or another party) would encourage the grid operators to use the results when they update their grid codes. A.10.2 Project package 'Regulation and electricity market' This project package includes two projects, but one is evaluated here. V-305 Regulations and Electricity Market TheV-305 project consists of different tasks. On task is 'Intra hour operation in an efficient way', where the topic is rational frequency control, and sufficient reserves for balancing the Nordic system with large amounts of wind power. Another task is 'Short term hydro power planning'. Also coordinating IEA Task 25 'Design and operation of power systems with large amounts of wind power' belongs to the project as well as 'Partitioning methods for multi-area studies in power systems', which includes a stochastic optimal power flow problem with small signal stability. The project leader is Professor Lennart Söder, KTH. The Vindforsk-project is one project in Lennart Söder's research group, which has several projects and funding from several sources. The activities of the research group cover power system dynamics, markets and balancing, network planning, operation and control. Relevance All the system level studies connected to power system technical issues and market design are relevant since in the future, the share of wind power generation will be significantly larger than today. This requires research on several system level issues. Scientific quality The scientific work here contains developing methods rather than simulating case studies. The work that concentrates on the Nordic power system and its properties, the methods for balancing can be regarded to be in the forefront in an international comparison. A big research group with several projects is also a strength. This has provided understanding of the variety of phenomena that are connected to wind power in power systems. The work is scientifically strong; the Electric Power Systems group has the highest Crown-index at KTH School of Electrical Engineering. Competence development So far, the project has provided publications, and more area coming. In 2011, at the Power System Computational conference (PSCC), Lennart Söder organised a renewable energy integration tutorial. For a university research group, a big value in industrial funding is the interest in participating that industry does. This brings real problems and real world challenges to the university. A.10.3 Project package HVDC Project package 'HVDC' has three projects. Two of them are evaluated here, and both of these are connected to off-shore grids of wind farms. Both were industry projects but dealt with two different grids. In both projects, the objective was to develop protection systems for non-conventional grids. So far, there are no conventional solutions to the protection of these kinds of grids; so practical solutions are needed. V-321 Protection of HVDC Connected Wind Farm Project 'Protection of HVDC Connected Wind Farm' (V-321) created a simulation model, where the objective was to develop a protection system for the wind farm

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internal ac-grid using conventional relays. The ac-grid between the wind generators and the voltage source converter has low short circuit currents, which makes the fault detection difficult. The simulations included models with both double fed induction generators and full converter synchronous generators. The simulated fault was a 3phase short circuit with the duration of 250 ms. Relevance The grids without short circuit current are different from the normal grids where 3phase faults are easily detected and tripped. With increased levels of wind power, the short circuit levels also on the grid side will be reduced and new protection schemes are needed. Therefore, different proposals for protection philosophy are needed and the relevance is apparent. Scientific quality This project is more an industrial than a scientific project. The simulation model is reported in the report draft but the results have not yet been verified. The validation with a real time simulator or with field tests would be good. It was difficult to find realistic data for the simulation model; therefore a co-operation with a wind turbine manufacturer in the future would be useful. Competence development The deliverable result of the project is the simulation model and the protection philosophy that are presented in the report. The researchers are preparing a conference paper. Creating the simulation model was a big task and took a lot of time. According to the simulations, existing relay types can be used, but verifications for the simulations are needed. V-323 Protection system design for MV DC collection grids for offshore wind farms The project 'Protection system design for MV DC collection grids for offshore wind farms' looks at the future. It studies a wind farm internal grid that is realised with DC cables. The objective is to understand faults in such systems and to develop a protection system for DC grid faults. At the moment, there are DC circuit breakers but they are either expensive or use unproven technology. AC circuit breakers can trip only low amplitude DC currents. The result of the project was a concept where DC breakers first disconnect the whole wind farm from the AC grid, then AC breakers isolate the fault and finally the healthy parts of the wind farm grid are reconnected. The concept uses existing components but has created a new concept for fault clearing. Relevance Since wind power brings forward ideas for new grid types, such as DC collection grids, and not extensive experience on such grids exists, it is relevant to simulate such grids in order to increase the understanding and develop knowledge and find new strategies to handle the internal faults of DC grids. Scientific quality This project is ready; the results are in an Elforsk report; a conference paper is planned. The project was more an industry project and the idea received in this project is innovative and has practical value. There are still some issues to be solved and tested. In the future, possibly there will be a PhD project that continues the work at a more scientific level. The project provided a solution where existing devices were used in a different way. It solved the problem of isolating the faulted part without installing several very expensive DC circuit breakers. Competence development

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In this project, there was co-operation between Vattenfall and ABB in the form of a common reference group. This was good since it brought to the participants a broader view to the topic and valuable technical feedback. A.10.4 Separate projects V-308 Brushless wind generator for limited speed range In this project, a model for brushless induction generator is developed. The next step will be to generalize the model from a small machine into a large machine and to verify the theoretical investigations of a close-loop control. Relevance Simulating grid dynamics requires generator models and there is a need for verified dynamic models that grid companies can use in their simulations. Scientific quality The project has provided five publications, and a licentiate thesis is planned. A new issue was developed, which enable driving the asynchronous generator with a unity power factor. This is new and has raised interest in conferences. This research continues in the research group. Competence development There has been co-operation ABB in Finland and with Vestas and the researches have gained competence. V-311 Dynamic impact of large wind farms on power system stability This project is finished, and consisted the continuation of a PhD project at KTH and was a separate scientific project. The objective was to study how wind power affects system dynamics and small signal stability. In the project, the system including the controls was modelled, two control strategies were developed, and the performance was tested in a case study using both IEEE test grid and CIGRE 32 grid model. A supplementary control added into power system stabiliser was developed as a model in SIMPOW-software. The objective was not so much to improve damping, rather check that the system remains stable. Relevance The literature has different results what it comes to the impact of wind power on power system stability. Power systems are different, have different operating states. The control systems of wind farms and the models of the control system vary; so different results are natural. In the Nordic synchronous system is the stability sets the limits for the transmission capacity; therefore stability analyses are important and well documented scientific analyses with correct models and specific controls are welcome. Scientific quality The project has produced a doctoral thesis and 11 scientific publications: journal and conference papers and a book chapter. In this project, the control strategy and the coordination between different wind turbines was recognised to be unique by the opponent of the doctoral dissertation. The research ideas for the future are analysing how much wind power there can be in the system, would a double-fed induction generator or a full converter synchronous generator be better for stability and what else should be included in the models. Competence development In this project, the delivered publications have increased the competence in Sweden. Maybe what is even more important is that the transmission system operator received a competent doctor. V-358 Implementation of frequency control into wind farms

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In this project, dynamic simulations for an island consisting wind power were performed. The objective was to study the operation with wind power and hydro power with different wind power penetration levels, to find out what kind of wind plant models are suitable for island operation, and to analyse the amount of wind power that can be added in a island grid. The simulations with a 130 kV real grid data were made. In the simulations, the hydro power makes the frequency control. Relevance The results show that with 30 % wind power in the system, there were continuous oscillations between 49 Hz and 50.2 Hz. Wind power together with hydro is a possible solution, but wind power produces new kind of continuous oscillation variations. The existing requirements for frequency variations do not seem to cover this kind continuous oscillation. It is possible to reduce the oscillations with a frequency control. The frequency variations are the most important limiting factor for the share of wind power in an island grid. Scientific quality The project was more an industry than a scientific project. The project seems to be very well organised and reported. Competence development According to the Swedish transmission system operator Svk, who had a representative in the reference group, this kind of frequency control would not be the normal operation mode but rather could be used in special cases when the grid is weak or for island operation. It is possible to add the frequency control requirement into a grid code. Since this is a Vindforsk rather than a Svk project, it broadens the knowledge received in the project into other institutions. V-369 On some aspects of power system stability and grid code requirement relevant for large-scale wind power integration The V-369 project addresses angle, voltage and frequency stability, which are topics that interest transmission system operators. The background of the project package is to get a better understanding of the technical impacts of wind power since the transient responses from wind generators are different from responses from conventional synchronous generators. In the future, when there will be more wind power, wind farms need to contribute in controlling the system voltage, magnitude and frequency control. The project was an international project with a reference group with members also from other Nordic countries than Sweden. The project is not yet finished. The project has three parts. In part 1, the focus is on the low frequency oscillations and the objective is to investigate how wind power affects the damping of the oscillations. Wind power may degrade these oscillations. The objective here is to predict what to expect when large amount of wind power contributes voltage control and to provide useful input in setting guidelines to tune the voltage controls for wind farms. The second part deals with synthetic inertia. The objective is to find out if the hidden inertia of wind power plants can be used with an additional control. Inertia of a wind farm is dependent of wind speed. If the wind power generation is at its maximum, the kinetic energy can be taken from the kinetic energy of rotors. The objective here is to evaluate the performance of power system frequency controllers in the presence of synthetic inertia and see how much this synthetic inertia can be used to support the grid considering possible technical limitations. The third part addresses transient voltage control and aims to find a proper understanding about voltage control transients, which may degrade the damping. The objectives: summarize the state of the art of wind farm transient responses, especially for double fed induction generators, and to help determining the requirements regarding the transient response from wind power generators when updating the grid codes.

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Relevance There is lack of system level operational and control experience for voltage and frequency stability with wind power. Detailed system level studies are needed. Scientific quality This is an industry project but there are possibilities for scientific results as well. Competence development The co-operation with transmission system operators in different countries is a good way to disseminate the knowledge that will be achieved in the project.

A.11 Recommendations: 

Work packages: The work package structure seemed to be very useful. They were commented very positively by several project leaders since they had encouraged co-operation between different types of research and industry and consultancy, and provided a broader understanding of the research problems and results. The concept of project packages should continue, and it is probably the most critical for smaller and fragmented groups. Research groups as those found at e.g., KTH will survive regardless of such organization. Proposals for larger program packages are welcomed. It is valuable if the board to check for overlaps etc. in order to form the project packages.



Program management. It is recommended to have a mandatory mid-term evaluation report by each project. This report should as a minimum answer the following questions: (i) Is there a need to change the project objectives based on the knowledge achieved half away?, and (ii) are such challenges encountered that threaten the ability to fulfil the project objectives, and achievement so far.



Neutral space. Mikael Dahlgren highlighted the value of neutral space for discussions between industrial partners without competition and conflicts concerning the products. This kind of co-operation is very good when dealing with the future, but not possible when today's products are the issue. There was also a commercial interest in general profiling of the area, more people have better knowledge about wind power issues. It is recommended that the board identifies measures that can empower the role of such informal arenas, where it is possible to formulate ideas and share them. For example arranging dedicated workshops where the industrial partners like manufacturers and plant operators, and academia together to discuss topics like “sharing reliability data”, “visions for next generation wind turbines” etc. The board should encourage the industry and universities to submit project proposal explicitly addressing the challenge of “confidentiality” and what can be done, not only complaining about the problem of confidentiality.



Publication strategy/confidentiality. A second issue of confidentiality conflict arises when a research project wants to publish the result. The researcher should strive to write the publication in such a way that confidential data are not released. It is recommended to use the “publication strategy” used by the NOWITECH project in Norway. When something is to be published, it should be available to relevant stakeholders one month before it is submitted. A dedicated (password protected) area should be allocated for this purpose. Then it is up to those having interest to actively stop the publication, or eventually propose how it could be modified in order to be published.



Strengthening the scientific representation in the board. It is recommended to appoint one or two professors in the board and/or in the steering groups. The main objective of such an instrument is to ensure that projects of basic research nature with high standards are not kicked out by short term arguments. The second objective is to guide the projects to improve their scientific level.



Board. It is recommended to get a wind turbine producer onto the board.

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Vindforsk III: An evaluation





Evaluation of Vindforsk. Regarding the evaluation by the scientific evaluators the following recommendations are put forward: 

(i) During the first day, time should be allocated where the scientific evaluators can define their own framework for the evaluation (harmonization process among the evaluators)



(ii) the Schedule for the interview was considered too “hectic”



(iii) It would also be good if there was a road map to how the various programs, projects and reports are connected



(iv) The evaluator should get access to the proposed mid-term status report.

About the programs 

There are two types of projects (i) those that anchored in dominating and established research groups, (II) those are more ad hoc group connected with and through the Vindforsk projects. The first of these types are likely to continue independent of Vindforsk support. But for the second types of projects it is critical to continue financial support at least until the results have been properly integrated in the wind community.



The strong collaboration between academia and the industry should continue since the knowledge of real installations and available measurements helps to develop scientific results and identify gaps where more research is needed.



The increased collaboration between universities should also be supported in a future Vindforsk program, as well as motivating the continuation of collaboration between industrial players.

A.12 Final conclusion The Vindforsk program seems to work quite well, and the program has in all program areas achieved scientific and technical results which are of high international level. The organization of the program is appropriate, and it is recommended that the program is continued into a fourth phase.

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Appendix B Interviewees

Taril Abdulahovic, Chalmers Urban Axelsson, Vattenfall Francois Besnard, Chalmers Anders Björck, Elforsk Math Bollen, LTU Ingemar Carlén, Teknikgruppen Ola Carlsson, SWPTC Jan-Åke Dahlberg, Vattenfall Mikael Dahlgren, ABB Göran Dalén, WPD Katharina Fisher, CTH Kjell Gustafsson, Statkraft Stig Göthe, Vindforsk Dan Henningsson, KTH Anders Holm, Vattenfall Research and Development Stefan Ivanell, Gotland University Krystof Kryniski, ÅF Infrastructure AB Haris Mehmedovic, ÅF industri Elisabeth Norgren, Svenska Kraftnät Linus Palmblad, Swedish Energy Agency Angelica Pettersson, Swedish Energy Agenzy Matthias Rapp, Chairman of the Board at Swedish Wind Power Technology Muhamad Reza, ABB Tomas Stalin, Vattenfall Vindkraft AB Torbjörn Thiringer, Chalmers Sven-Erik Thor, Vattenfall Nayeem Ullah, STRI AB

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