Study and Assessment of Technical and Commercial Feasibility of a New Gate Drive Technology, SmartDrive, for Power Electronics Converters used in Offshore Wind Turbines

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The project aims to study and assess the technical and commercial feasibility of a new Gate Drive technology, SmartDrive, for Power Electronics Converters (PEC) used in offshore wind turbines. SmartDrive can offer a substantial 25 and 40 percent reduction in PECs' switching losses and failure rate, respectively, hence reducing the Cost of Energy from offshore wind by 4.3% (figures are based on our preliminary studies and the model recommended by the Department of Energy & Climate Change). This is particularly important for the UK since the offshore wind is set to play an important role in achieving the renewable energy and CO2 emission reduction targets for 2020. During the project, a prototype SmartDrive will be built and tested in a 20 kW wind turbine. In addition, the technical feasibility and economics of SmartDrive for use in large-scale (e.g. 5 MW+) offshore wind turbines will be assessed and quantified.