Systematic analysis of performance and cost of two floating offshore wind turbines with significant interactions

Given the depletion of shallow water wind energy resources and maturity of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT), offshore wind technology is shifting from bottom fixed to floating. As a consequence, the research has concentrated on the points such as energy production and cost, which affect the commercialization of the wind farm. Researchers have studied the individual factors affecting these points, and used over-simplified methods. In order to provide a systematic and high quality analysis, we conducted a comprehensive study of wind farm based on unsteady Reynolds Average Navier–Stokes simulations two FOWTs and detailed decomposition of cost components. Specifically, under different scenarios, we compare the two FOWT performances, such as the power output, torque and six degrees of freedom motion response. The influences of the relative rotating direction and relative positions are analyzed. More importantly, we extensively discuss the impact of the interaction on the FOWT levelized cost of energy under various scenarios. It is found that tandem layout with a distance of 9.25D is the practical optimal parameter choice. This study is expected to provide guidances and insights for offshore wind researchers and governmental decision makers in future wind farm plannings.