Kinewell Energy has demonstrated that its revolutionary new software, KLOC, could have saved an operating offshore wind farm £2.2m had the technology been available when the wind farm was designed. The North East of England based company launched the KLOC software in November 2015 following two years of research and development. The innovative software optimises the geographical layout of offshore wind electrical cables, which collect the energy before it is sent to shore.
The 576 MW Gwynt-y-mor offshore wind farm was re-designed in a case study to indicate the vast savings achievable. During the study, Kinewell Energy found that £2.2m, or 3% of the installed cable cost, could be saved by utilising KLOC compared to traditional design techniques. The savings were realised by reducing the overall cable length by 1.7 km and through the reduction of electrical losses; some 1.2 GWh per year, which is enough energy to boil the water of five Olympic sized swimming pools from room temperature.
Managing Director Andrew Jenkins said, “We are very excited by the results of this case study. It demonstrates the economic impact our innovative KLOC software will have on the UK energy market, which will ultimately lead to savings on household utility bills. If our technology is used for all future UK offshore wind farms, we would expect an extra 70 GWh of electrical energy to reach the UK each year. That would negate around 27,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually whilst powering around 16,000 homes – all energy that would otherwise be wasted heating the sea.”