Analytical study on hydrodynamic performance of co-located offshore wind–solar farms

Abstract

Based on linear potential flow theory, this study investigates the hydrodynamic performance of a co-located farm with an array of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) and floating photovoltaics (FPVs). In this process, to evaluate the wave–structure interaction, domain decomposition and matched eigenfunction method are applied to address the boundary value problem for a complex-shaped co-located farm, and the velocity potential can be decomposed into radiation and diffraction problems. Under the framework of linearized theory, we establish the coupled motion equations by modeling rigid and articulated constraints to evaluate the kinematic response of the FOWTs and FPVs in the co-located farm. For such a system, a co-located farm consisting of an array of OC4-DeepCwind FOWTs and FPVs is proposed and investigated in this study. After running convergence analysis and model validation, the present model is employed to perform a multiparameter effect analysis. Case studies are presented to clarify the effects of solar platform geometric parameters (including column depth, thickness, radius, and total draft), articulated system, and shadow effect on the hydrodynamic behavior of wind and solar platforms. The findings elucidated in this work provide guidance for the optimized design of FPVs and indicate the potential for synergies between wind and solar energy utilization on floating platforms.