Airborne Wind Energy Certification Roadmap

This report describes the certification process for conventional wind turbine systems and civil aircraft, with the goal of identifying a roadmap for certification of rigid wing airborne wind energy systems. The report further documents the topics covered by the wind turbine Type Certification process to provide insights into the high-level gaps in the conventional wind energy certification scheme as it would relate to AWE systems. The report focuses on aerostructures made with fibre-reinforced polymer composites as a key element in AWE systems, which typically require a complex and costly set of validation activities as part of the certification process. The report describes a framework for comparing the certification requirements of both aviation and wind industries, to identify the similarities and gaps for composite components. The framework was applied to three example topics related to aerostructures: choice of fatigue evaluation methodology, temperature effects on composite materials and the design of the blade root attachment. The framework could also be applied more generally as a means of analysing any of the sub-systems or components of an airborne wind energy system for certification. The next steps from this research include (i) application of the framework to mapping existing standards suitable to AWE sub-systems and components, (ii) continued research to incorporate findings from test/demonstration AWE systems into data-based recommendations for future standards and certification, and (iii) supporting education and training activities on certification for AWE companies as they move towards greater levels of commercial readiness.