Systems Engineering Workshop 2022

The 2022 Systems Engineering Workshop focused on evolving the grid and economic landscape; designing, modeling, and developing controls for wind farms; and expanding the system.

NREL, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) hosted the sixth Systems Engineering Workshop Aug. 30–Sept. 1, 2022, at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute Center in Boulder, Colorado. Sessions included keynotes from Colorado wind and aerospace innovators; tool advances; and tours of a startup, manufacturing facility, and NREL’s Flatirons Campus.

System engineering sessions focused on:

Evolving grid and economic landscape
Floating and controls
Wind farm design
Design with high-fidelity models
Industry perspectives
Expanding the "system" and design objectives to include hybrid plants, supply chain needs, grid resiliency, environmental impacts.

See details from past Systems Engineering Workshops.

Meeting Agenda

View the full program agenda.

PDFs of many presentations are available via the summary of the meeting agenda below.

Explore the introductory presentation.

Aug. 30, 2022

Government Perspective and Kickoff, Ben Hallissy, U.S. Department of Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office

Led by Katherine Dykes, DTU

1.1 LCOE: Update on Recent Trends Offshore, Morten Jensen, Aegir Insights

1.2 Value and Profitability Metrics for Wind and Renewables, Eric Loth, University of Virginia

1.3 Sustainability and Social Acceptance in a World Powered by Wind, Suzanne Tegen, Colorado State University

Led by Mayank Chetan, NREL

2.1 Exploring and Exploiting System-Level Design Synergies for Floating Vertical Axis Wind Systems, Todd Griffith, University of Texas at Dallas

2.2 Control Co-Design of Floating Wind Turbines Using WEIS, Daniel Zalkind, NREL

2.3 Superconducting Generators for Offshore Wind Turbines, David Torrey, General Electric

2.4 Derivatives for Wind Turbine and Wind Farm Design Optimization, Andrew Ning, Brigham Young University

Led by Matt Hall, NREL

3.1 Trade-Offs in Manufacturing, Installation Logistics, and O&M for Floating Wind Farms, Matteo Baudino Bessone, Delft University of Technology

3.2 Multi-Disciplinary, Simulation- and Reliability-Based Design Optimization of FOWT Systems, Mareike Leimeister, Fraunhofer

3.3 Innovations at Hollandse Kust Noord Wind Farm, Nick Smith, Shell

3.4 Systems Engineering After the Fact, Pete Bachant, WindESCo

Disruption in Aerospace – A Few Observations on Current Trends Surrounding Flying Cars, Drones, and Hypersonic Aircraft, Robin Riedel, McKinsey

Led by Frederik Zahle, DTU

4.1 Performing Multidisciplinary Optimization Using OpenMDAO, John Jasa, NASA Glenn

4.2 Wind Farm Flow Modeling and Optimization in PyWake/TOPFARM, Rafael Valotta Rodrigues, DTU

Aug. 31, 2022

Systems Engineering for Floating Offshore Wind, Nate McKenzie, U.S. Department of Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office

Developing and Scaling New Technology in Wind – Spiral Welded Tower Case Study, Eric Smith, Keystone Tower

Led by Frederik Zahle, DTU

5.1 CFD-based MDO for Wind Turbine Rotor Design, Marco Mangano, University of Michigan

5.2 A Data-Enabled Co-Design Approach for Solving the Problem of Ill-Conditioning in Modern Wind Turbine Control Schemes, Sebastiaan Mulders, Delft University of Technology

5.3 Recent Advances in Large-Scale Multidisciplinary Design Optimization, John Hwang, University of California San Diego

5.4 AI/ML as a Gateway to Design With HFM, Ryan King, NREL

Led by Pietro Bortolotti, NREL

6.1 The RAAW Project and the Need for Validation of Numerical Models, Jonathan Naughton, University of Wyoming

6.2 Blade Design and Optimization Using NuMAD, Evan Anderson, Sandia National Laboratories

6.3 Additive Manufacturing in the Wind Industry – A Systems Engineering Perspective, Pascal Meyer, General Electric

6.4 Informing Blade Design Through MDAO Practices, Evan Gaertner, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy

Led by Chris Bay, NREL

7.1 Systems Design and Operation of Renewable Energy Parks With New Technologies, Petr Kadurek, Vattenfall

7.2 Design of Wind-Based Hybrid Plants for Grid Integration, Jennifer King, NREL

7.3 Green Hydrogen: Opportunities and Challenges of Integration of Wind Turbine and Electrolysis Systems, Rogier Blom, General Electric

7.4 Modular Simulation Platform for Integrated Energy Systems, Tobias Meyer, Fraunhofer

Led by Katherine Dykes, DTU

8.1 Hybrid Wind Farm Design for Minimum CO2, Bernard Bulder, TNO

8.2 Integrating Wildlife Considerations Into Wind Energy Systems Engineering, Bethany Straw, U.S. Geological Survey

8.3 Thermoplastic Wind Turbine Blades and Recyclable-by-Design Materials, Robynne Murray, NREL

Led by Garrett Barter, NREL

9.1 A Peek Into the Wind Systems Engineering Tools of NREL: WISDEM and WEIS, Pietro Bortolotti, NREL

9.2 FLORIS: New Capabilities, Recent Results, and Future Directions, Chris Bay, NREL

Sept. 1, 2022

Led by Frederik Zahle, Delft University of Technology, and Pietro Bortolotti and Mayank Chetan, NREL

Tour consisted of a 30-minute Q&A followed by a 1-hour factory tour.

Led by Garrett Barter and Katherine Dykes, NREL

Tour consisted of a 1.5-hour walking tour of test turbines, manufacturing facilities, and new capabilities for hybrids research.