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Title: Benefits of Two Turbine Rotor Diameters and Hub Heights in the Same Wind Farm

Abstract

Significant turbine-wake interactions greatly reduce power output in a wind farm. If different turbine hub heights and rotor diameters are included in the same wind farm, the wake interference in the farm will be reduced, resulting in a lower cost of energy (COE) than a farm with identical turbines. In this paper, we present a method to model wind farm COE in farms with hub heights and rotor diameters that vary across the wind farm. We also demonstrate how to optimize these wind farms to minimize COE. The results show that COE can be greatly reduced in wind farms with non-homogeneous turbines, especially when the turbines are spaced close together. For a unidirectional wind rose, including different turbine design in the wind farm has a similar decrease in COE to spreading the wind turbines farther apart. When the rotor diameter and hub height of the wind turbines in a farm are optimized uniformly, a COE decrease of 4% to 13% (depending on the grid spacing and wind shear exponent) is achieved compared to the baseline. When the rotor diameter and turbine heights are optimized non-uniformly, with two different diameters and heights throughout the farm, there is a COE decrease ofmore » 22% to 41% compared to the baseline. For a more spread wind rose with a dominant probability from the west, there is a COE decrease between 3% and 10% for uniformly optimized rotor diameter and height compared to the baseline. With two optimized rotor diameters and heights through the farm, a COE decrease of 3% to 19% is achieved. For a similar wind rose shifted such that the dominant wind direction is from the northwest, a COE decrease between 3% and 10% results from uniformly optimized wind turbines compared to the baseline. A COE decrease of 3% to 17% compared to the baseline occurs with two different turbines are optimized throughout the wind farm.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2]
  1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  2. Brigham Young University
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Water Technologies Office (EE-4W)
OSTI Identifier:
1433794
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5000-71345
DOE Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: Presented at the 2018 Wind Energy Symposium at the AIAA SciTech Forum, 8-12 January 2018, Kissimmee, Florida
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
17 WIND ENERGY; wind power; turbines; cost of energies; rotor diameter; wake interactions; wind farms

Citation Formats

Dykes, Katherine L, Stanley, Andrew P. J., and Ning, Andrew. Benefits of Two Turbine Rotor Diameters and Hub Heights in the Same Wind Farm. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.2514/6.2018-2016.
Dykes, Katherine L, Stanley, Andrew P. J., & Ning, Andrew. Benefits of Two Turbine Rotor Diameters and Hub Heights in the Same Wind Farm. United States. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2018-2016
Dykes, Katherine L, Stanley, Andrew P. J., and Ning, Andrew. 2018. "Benefits of Two Turbine Rotor Diameters and Hub Heights in the Same Wind Farm". United States. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2018-2016.
@article{osti_1433794,
title = {Benefits of Two Turbine Rotor Diameters and Hub Heights in the Same Wind Farm},
author = {Dykes, Katherine L and Stanley, Andrew P. J. and Ning, Andrew},
abstractNote = {Significant turbine-wake interactions greatly reduce power output in a wind farm. If different turbine hub heights and rotor diameters are included in the same wind farm, the wake interference in the farm will be reduced, resulting in a lower cost of energy (COE) than a farm with identical turbines. In this paper, we present a method to model wind farm COE in farms with hub heights and rotor diameters that vary across the wind farm. We also demonstrate how to optimize these wind farms to minimize COE. The results show that COE can be greatly reduced in wind farms with non-homogeneous turbines, especially when the turbines are spaced close together. For a unidirectional wind rose, including different turbine design in the wind farm has a similar decrease in COE to spreading the wind turbines farther apart. When the rotor diameter and hub height of the wind turbines in a farm are optimized uniformly, a COE decrease of 4% to 13% (depending on the grid spacing and wind shear exponent) is achieved compared to the baseline. When the rotor diameter and turbine heights are optimized non-uniformly, with two different diameters and heights throughout the farm, there is a COE decrease of 22% to 41% compared to the baseline. For a more spread wind rose with a dominant probability from the west, there is a COE decrease between 3% and 10% for uniformly optimized rotor diameter and height compared to the baseline. With two optimized rotor diameters and heights through the farm, a COE decrease of 3% to 19% is achieved. For a similar wind rose shifted such that the dominant wind direction is from the northwest, a COE decrease between 3% and 10% results from uniformly optimized wind turbines compared to the baseline. A COE decrease of 3% to 17% compared to the baseline occurs with two different turbines are optimized throughout the wind farm.},
doi = {10.2514/6.2018-2016},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1433794}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Fri Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}

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Works referenced in this record:

Gradient-Based Optimization of Wind Farms with Different Turbine Heights
conference, January 2017


Wind plant system engineering through optimization of layout and yaw control: Wind plant system engineering
journal, March 2015


Modelling and measurements of power losses and turbulence intensity in wind turbine wakes at Middelgrunden offshore wind farm
journal, January 2007


3D layout optimization for large wind farms
conference, February 2015


Wind farm layout optimization using genetic algorithm with different hub height wind turbines
journal, June 2013