Comment on wes-2023-14

Abstract

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> With the increasing growth of wind farm installations, the impact of wake effects from wind turbines on power output, structural loads, and revenue has become a major concern. Hence, there is a need for precise simulation tools to facilitate efficient and cost-effective design and operation of wind farms. To address this need, we present HAWC2Farm, a dynamic and versatile aeroelastic wind farm simulation methodology that combines state-of-the-art engineering models to accurately capture the complex physical phenomena in wind farms. HAWC2Farm models each turbine in a wind farm using the aeroelastic turbine simulator, HAWC2, while sharing a large, high-resolution turbulence box to model atmospheric flow field effects at the farm level, and a modified Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model for capturing wake interactions. The method is computationally efficient and provides valuable insights for wind farm design. It is validated using time series field measurements from the Lillgrund wind farm, including scenarios with yaw steering and a turbine shutdown. HAWC2Farm addresses the challenges of modelling the complex dynamics in wind farms, enabling more accurate, informed and cost-effective design and operation.