Topology Planning of Clustered Transmission Networking for Offshore Wind Farms

Offshore wind energy is abundant and offers high energy density with minimal environmental impact, making it an increasingly popular field of study and development worldwide. However, offshore wind farms are confronted with challenges such as scarce resources for transmission corridors. Optimizing the topological structure of the transmission network for offshore wind farms has thus become a critical issue in their advancement. Given the presence of an onshore control center, offshore substations, and wind farm power stations, this study sets out to minimize the investment cost for the transmission network topology. A mathematical optimization model for the investment cost is developed. The paper introduces a binary particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm for this topological optimization. This approach is characterized by its swift convergence, minimal parameter requirements, and straightforward implementation. By refining the topological structure of offshore wind farms, the algorithm not only reduces construction costs but also decreases the need for manpower. This has significant implications for the practical application of such projects in the field.