Offshore wind turbine evacuation power plant

Abstract

In an era where unmanned attacks by military drones are used in war and terrorism, offshore wind power facilities, which are critical national energy facilities but are located far out at sea and unprotected, are at risk of attack during local conflicts or when international tensions rise. [Solution] In the event of a local emergency or heightened international tensions, the nacelle can be urgently removed from the offshore wind power facility, evacuated to the safe mainland, installed on the ground, and towed by wheels powered by an internal combustion engine to generate electricity at the same rotational speed as at sea.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an offshore wind turbine evacuation power plant that evacuates the main part of the wind turbine (nacelle) to the mainland and generates power with the power of an internal combustion engine, as a safety measure to protect offshore wind power generation facilities from military attacks by foreign military forces in the event of an emergency or sabotage by terrorist organizations.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when a person tries to challenge something, there is a so-called "difficulty level" corresponding to the set goal. Target schools, target companies, national examinations, marriage partners, business startups, research themes, solving social issues... Of course, the same applies to crimes. Assassination of important persons and murder of ordinary people, breaking into a bank safe and ransacking the offering box at a shrine, shoplifting at a jewelry store and shoplifting at an unmanned vegetable store... clearly differ in difficulty level. Even in terrorist activities, it is extremely difficult for foreign terrorists to plant time bombs at nuclear power plants. The same applies to placing such devices inside airports or stations. In contrast, offshore wind power generation facilities located far away from the mainland in remote ocean areas are extremely low in difficulty, and become ideal targets that can be easily attacked.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Summary of Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] This had the following drawbacks. Unlike elderly care facilities, energy facilities are important industrial infrastructures and core facilities that affect the survival of the nation. Even between warring nations, they may be excluded from attack targets. For hundreds or thousands of years, humanity has never had the experience of installing important national facilities in remote, out-of-sight, and unprotected locations. At present (the first quarter of the 21st century), offshore wind power generation facilities are for the first time being installed in locations where it is difficult to achieve the same level of protection as mainland facilities. Before the 9 / 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, no one could have imagined that terrorists would hijack passenger planes and launch suicide attacks on skyscrapers. Similarly, terrorists around the world will eventually realize that offshore wind farms are the ideal target for destruction, meeting the optimal conditions of being extremely easy to attack while simultaneously inflicting significant damage on the industry and economy of the target country. This is a prediction of an inevitable developmental process, based on lessons learned from the past and insights into human nature. In future society, it is expected that terrorist activities targeting offshore wind turbines will become more frequent, using unmanned aerial drones, unmanned underwater drones, or saboteurs. If the first terrorist attack on an offshore wind power facility occurs in the second quarter of the 21st century, the business environment for the offshore wind power industry will change dramatically. The importance of security measures will increase, and enormous budgets will be required to maintain operations. International organizations will be established to jointly monitor facilities in each regional block, transcending the boundaries of companies and countries, but terrorist organizations will also continue to carry out guerrilla attacks. In times of crisis, there may be cases where intelligence agencies of enemy countries carry out destruction disguised as terrorist attacks. Globally, the number of companies entering the offshore wind power business will decrease, and existing facilities will no longer be replaced after their service life has expired. However, the risk of attack during the 20 to 30 years of operation cannot be eliminated. In particular, in times of crisis, when tensions rise with a potential enemy country, or when targeted by a terrorist organization, the only course of action will be to remain silent, do nothing, gather and analyze information, closely monitor the situation, and pray for safety. This invention was made to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] When the threat of terrorism against offshore wind power facilities becomes apparent, requiring a counter-terrorism budget in the business plan, and when the risk of terrorist damage, calculated from the power balance between terrorists and counter-terrorism efforts, reaches a certain level, a management decision is made to evacuate the facilities to the mainland. Only the main components (nacelles) will be evacuated. Whether it is a fixed-bottom or floating structure, the support structures, floating bodies, blades, and power lines will not be evacuated. The nacelles, which were removed from the power plant and safely transported to the mainland before the terrorist attack, would be repurposed for fossil fuel-powered power generation, as there would be no point in carefully storing them in a warehouse. ▲1▼ Place the nacelle on the ground. ▲2▼ Replace the three blades with a single long axle. ▲3▼ Attach wheels to the end of the axle. ▲4▼ Lay roads or rails around the wheels' circular track. ▲5▼ Drive the wheels with an engine powered by an internal combustion engine. ▲6▼ Drive the wheels to rotate and travel indefinitely along the circular track. ▲7▼ Fuel the internal combustion engine. The present invention is an offshore wind turbine evacuation power plant having the above configuration. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] Wind turbines built in an era when the risk of attacks or sabotage by foreign militaries or terrorist organizations against offshore wind power facilities was not anticipated can now be operated as power plants on the safe mainland without any worries about future destruction, thus fulfilling their original purpose and role. By converting the horizontal axis blades of an offshore wind turbine into a vertical axis pole on land, and using a simple structure in which the tip is towed and rotated along the circumference by wheels powered by an internal combustion engine, it can be used as a large-scale generator (small-scale power plant) with very low construction and maintenance costs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a side view of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is an elevation view of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The following describes embodiments for carrying out the present invention. 1. Technical Image The main body of the offshore wind turbine is separated from the tower and placed horizontally on a wide area of ​​ground. The main body has the bottom of the central nacelle and the tips of two blades touching the ground, while the tip of the remaining blade floats slightly above in the air. The nacelle is inserted vertically into a fixed structure built on the ground. All three blades are slightly elevated from the ground, allowing for a free range of motion. Remove all three blades and replace them with a single pole. The length of the pole can be anything within the range of the blade length. In this explanation, a standard 100m pole for offshore wind turbines is used. (For convenience, the procedure described involves removing the blade, but it is not necessary to leave it out at sea and retrieve it from the beginning.) When a worker pushes the pole near the hub (center), it doesn't move at all, but when pushed with the tip (end), it moves slightly. Initially, it moves at about 3 km / h, but as the frictional resistance changes, it moves forward at walking speed. The speed of the chip required for actual commercial use is approximately 300 km / h. However, since the circumference of all circles is a constant and proportional to the diameter, if the radius of rotation (distance from the center) is halved, the rotational speed will also be halved. If the distance from the center is reduced to one-tenth, the rotational speed will also be reduced to one-tenth. The distance from the center is flexible. For space-saving purposes, it is set at 25m. At this position, the rotational speed is approximately 75km / h. This is the optimal speed for a typical car to travel long distances over extended periods. Beyond this, there are a wide range of other power units available to drive the rotating shaft. For example, suppose there is a large trailer that can carry a 10-ton load. If the fuel tank of this trailer is filled with gasoline, it can travel hundreds of kilometers. If the tow hook is connected not to the 10-ton cargo bed, but to a pole extending from the nacelle, the central axis will rotate a number of times equal to the distance traveled divided by the circumference, generating electricity equivalent to wind power. According to the law of moments, the point of application of power on a rotating shaft requires more "speed" the further it is from the center, and more "power" the closer it is to the center. If the distance from the center is 100m, the speed is 300km / h, which is the speed of a racing car or a light aircraft engine and propeller. If it's 50m, the speed is 150km / h, which is the speed of a normal sports car. If it's 25m, the speed is 75km / h, which is the speed of a large trailer. If it's 10m, the speed is 30km / h, which is the speed of heavy machinery. If it's 5m or less, towing is no longer necessary, and a disc can be attached to the rotating shaft, allowing a piston extending from an internal combustion engine or steam engine to be directly connected.

[0009] 2. Economic Image A wind turbine with a 20-year lifespan would have a total rotation count of approximately 600 million times if it rotated once per second. Normally, it rotates about once every 3 seconds, so that's 200 million times. If we subtract the time it is stopped due to no wind or strong winds, and the time spent on maintenance and inspection, the lifetime rotation count will be approximately 100 million times. Multiplying this by the amount of electricity generated per rotation and the electricity selling price, and adjusting for inflation, we get the lifetime sales revenue. The cost of goods sold is the kinetic energy of the atmosphere, and the supplier is the natural environment, so there are no accounts payable to suppliers. Therefore, sales revenue directly becomes operating profit (gross profit). Selling and marketing expenses are unnecessary because it is a long-term sales contract. Management expenses are for maintenance. Necessary expenses are for initial equipment investment. Subtracting these gives us the operating profit. The cost is calculated as "total cost" = "initial cost" + "running cost". The initial cost of offshore wind power generation includes equipment manufacturing / purchase costs, assembly costs, transportation costs, foundation work, construction work, transmission lines, surveys, fisheries compensation, various preliminary arrangements, and other expenses. Running costs include management and operation, maintenance and inspections, repairs, interest, depreciation, security, demolition and disposal reserves, and other expenses. The main initial cost of onshore power generation is the purchase cost of the nacelle. All of the huge costs including towers, blades, floating structures, and anchors are unnecessary. Running costs are significantly reduced overall. The only cost is the fuel cost of the internal combustion engine. To explain this using an example familiar to people's daily lives, electric vehicles don't require gasoline, but their purchase price is high. Conventional cars require gasoline, but their purchase price is low. In other words, when comparing the total amount of "purchase price + gasoline cost," the break-even point is determined by whether the total amount calculated from the car's fuel efficiency, annual mileage, and gasoline price exceeds the break-even point in terms of usage period, or whether the useful life reaches just before the break-even point. To explain this with a more easily understandable example, it's like deciding whether to receive less public pension from age 60 or more from age 70. The question with wind power generation is whether to use a small budget for just the nacelle and produce inefficient onshore power generation, or to invest a huge budget in large-scale construction to produce highly efficient offshore wind power generation.

[0010] Currently, wind turbine nacelles are ultra-high-tech, comparable to jet engines. They are assemblies of 20,000 to 30,000 parts, and even developed countries find it difficult to catch up if they lag behind in research and development. In particular, the unit called the gearbox is the heart of the turbine, representing a highly advanced technology that is incomparably more advanced than past technologies. The gearbox is a device that converts small forces into enormous forces. Conversely, it is a mechanism that generates enormous forces with only small forces. For example, a typical onshore wind turbine with 10m blades rotates at an optimal speed of about 30km / h at the tip. If it is placed horizontally on the ground, fitted with a 50cc engine and tires, connected to a pole, and towed along a circular track, it can generate electricity with surprisingly low fuel consumption. Fuel is not free like wind, but in return, it eliminates the need for massive construction work.

[0011] The required horsepower of the engine depends on the size of the wind turbine, but the optimal displacement is smaller than that of a typical trailer. The coefficient of kinetic friction acting on the wheels is also small. Compared to a freight train that pulls hundreds of tons of weight with a single locomotive, the work (in watts) required to rotate the wind turbine is extremely small. Regarding CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels, the amount of CO2 emitted per offshore wind turbine is greater from the fossil fuels used in the melting and forming of iron, copper, aluminum, etc., which are generated during the manufacturing process of the tower, blades, foundation work, power transmission lines, and other components. Offshore wind power facilities tend to become larger due to the "cube law" between wind energy and power generation efficiency. However, as the blades get longer, the tip speed approaches the speed of sound even at normal rotation. Unlike the thin air of the stratosphere, blades moving at the speed of sound at low altitudes where the air is denser experience metal fatigue due to vibration and damage from dust and particulate matter in the air, significantly shortening their service life. According to AI, wind and solar power, which humans call renewable energy, are not actually renewable. Even if wind and solar power were inexhaustible, if the equipment that extracts energy from them and converts it into electricity has a finite lifespan, the system as a whole is unsustainable and would have to be repeatedly renewed (replaced or rebuilt) indefinitely. When producers sell something to consumers, they sometimes promote sales by offering options, added value, or toppings in addition to standard goods or services. Offshore wind power offers consumers seeking energy, specifically electricity, the option of offshore operation. Operators derive revenue from both "standard" and "optional" products, inevitably increasing the cost burden on consumers. A healthy economy and society should allow consumers the freedom to choose between standard and premium products, and should not result in increased profits for operators through forced consumer burdens. Looking at the historical development of the world's militaries, we see that they expanded in the order of "Army," "Navy," and "Air Force," followed by the emergence of "Biochemical Forces," "Nuclear Missile Forces," and "Space Forces," and then the creation of "Cyber ​​Forces," and currently, "Drone Forces" are rapidly developing. In the future, we can expect the creation of "Meteorological Forces" to deal with artificial earthquakes and tsunamis, "Robot Forces" to remotely control battlefields, and "AI Forces" to control general staff headquarters with quantum computers. In this context, the most relevant risk management aspect of offshore wind power projects is unmanned attacks using drones. It is predicted that future warfare will see attacks on offshore wind power facilities becoming a tactical option, as they can inflict significant economic damage without killing or injuring non-combatants, without provoking international backlash, and can be easily carried out from a distance. The solution is to avoid excessive reliance on wind power and to evacuate at least the main body (nacelle) to the safe mainland in the event of a conflict in the surrounding area or when tensions with a potential adversary escalate. However, even if evacuated safely, offshore wind turbines, which require massive towers that cannot be installed on land, have no choice but to be carefully stored in hangars. If they are no longer useful for generating electricity, they will effectively be destroyed and disappear.

Claims

[Claim 1] An offshore wind turbine evacuation power plant characterized by a function that, in the event of an emergency, allows the main nacelle of the offshore wind power generation facility to be removed and evacuated to the safe mainland, where it is installed vertically in a designated temporary storage space built on the ground, a pole is attached horizontally from the rotation axis to the ground, and at the appropriate position, an internal combustion engine is connected to a power unit consisting of wheels, and the nacelle is towed along a dedicated road or track along the circumference, thereby making effective use of the nacelle for power generation.

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