Determination of optimal layout of wind turbines inside a wind farm in presence of practical constraints

Abstract

Wind energy, one of the most promising alternative sources of energy to cater energy needs at the current time, is generally harvested placing wind turbines optimally inside a wind farm. However, limited availability of land has resulted in the construction of wind farms nearby human dwellings, restricted zones and natural habitats (rivers, forests) causing a negative impact on the human health, wildlife, and the environment. Using a widely used wake model and ISO-9613-2 noise calculation method, a multi-objective optimization among three important conflicting objectives such as noise propagation, investment cost, and energy generation has been performed in this study to determine the optimal layout (numbers and positions) of wind turbines inside a wind farm. Along with this, the effects of practical constraints such as the presence of human habitats and forbidden zone inside a wind farm is also studied. A novel space decomposition based approach with repair (SDwR) strategy implemented on the basic platform of non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA II) has been proposed to solve this problem. Pareto optimal (PO) solutions are generated that allow the decision maker to choose among various layouts by considering the permissible noise standards, cost obligations, and land availability.