Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
elements of a successful new WT design include strong support from stakeholders,
fi nancial backing to see the project through, and an adaptable framework for the
teams to work together and get things done. This ensures world-class results that
are fully optimized for the different system level and component views.
3.1 Establishing the need
In order to begin a design for a new turbine, studies must be performed to fi nd the
optimum concepts and characteristics for a proposed market. The process starts
with the defi nition of customer needs, and to this end the following are defi ned:
￿
Market target segment; e.g. regions, customer types, WT design TC
￿
Market settings; e.g. prevailing fi nance terms, government policies, incentive
and tax schemes, local supplier content requirements
Company internal goals; e.g. amount of build-to-print versus spec, unit volume
￿
scenario's, sourcing strategies including supplier base, strategic partners
A list of technologies ready (or will be in time) for product implementation
￿
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Target internal design metrics for concept selection and optimization
￿
Range of turbine ratings, rotor diameters and HHs to scan for optimum
confi gurations
Target metrics relative to other products including the competition.
￿
At a minimum, the last item should include the CoE and the specifi c TV (STV) of
WPPs that assume different numbers of turbines. The CoE (c$/kWh) can be deter-
mined for each year of the turbine's life or expressed as levelized CoE (LCoE), and
the specifi c TV ($/kW) is the customer NPV plus OEM margin normalized by plant
rating. Market and customer needs outline an optimum solution for a turbine design.
3.2 The business case
What does a company want to be known and remembered for? Are better returns
for stakeholder investments available? Are the risks worth the time and effort?
These and many more questions form the foundation of business growth and vital-
ity. There are a great number of opinions throughout an organization, and usually a
large number of factors are continually changing, making consensus complicated.
A new WT design may be judged too costly or an organization may answer these
questions with alternative profi t strategies, but increasingly the economics of MW
WTs and WPPs provide strong profi tability. More important than today's profi t
expectations are actions that promote sustainability. Achieving a balance among
all of these factors should be the ultimate goal of the WT designer. Tax benefi ts/
government incentives?
3.3 Tollgates
Tollgates are the orderly process for developing new products and technolo-
gies. They are applicable for component development as well as the higher-level
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