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Durham Energy Institute

Wind Research - Flying the Flag

The Energy Group of the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences at Durham University is active in research associated with the commercial development of wind power in the following areas:

  • Large wind offshore investigating the reliability and condition monitoring of 2-10 MW wind turbines in order to raise turbine availability and reduce the overall cost of energy.
  • Large onshore wind turbine analysis of factors affecting the reliability of the mechanical drive train and electrical conversion subsystems.
  • Medium and domestic wind, the analysis of resource and the measurement of performance of integrated turbine generator converter combinations making use of an extensive array of wind tunnels and measurement facilities in the School.

The Group is involved in the following research grants working in this area:

  • Principal Investigator of the prestigious £2.55M UK EPSRC Supergen Wind project involving 9 universities and research institutes.
  • Trainer, disseminator and reliability expert on the €5.5M EU FP7 RELIAWIND Consortium.
  • Principal Investigator of the £1M UK EPSRC FRENS Energy China Call Consortium working on Drive Train and Electrical Conversion Technology.
  • Principal Investigator of the £500k UK EPSRC COMPERE project with Warwick University working on the reliability of Power Converter Bridges.

Professor Tavner, who leads the team, is President of the European Academy of Wind Energy, Non Executive Director of the Cambridge University spin-out company Wind Technologies and upcoming Chair fo the Scientific Track of the European Wind Energy Association 2012 Conference in Copenhagen, the premier world wind energy conference.