Optimization of Electrical Connection Scheme for Large Offshore Wind Farm with Genetic Algorithm

Offshore wind farms have great potential as large-scale sustainable energy sources for the production of electricity. Utilization of offshore wind farms requires a reliable and efficient transmission system. The increased interest in offshore wind farms accentuates the need to focus attention on the economic issues of the electrical system. Based on analysis of existing offshore wind farm schemes and the investment cost of electrical components, optimization model is proposed and explained in this paper. An optimization approach based on genetic algorithm is presented to search for the optimum connection scheme. A calculation example shows that the differences among different electric connection schemes are evident, and by use of genetic algorithm the optimal connection scheme can be found effectively.