Wind farm layout optimization for wake effect uniformity

Abstract

The basic objective of wind farm layout optimization is to maximize the energy produced by wind farms. However, when wind turbines are arranged in a limited space like an onshore wind farm, specific wind turbines may have greater wake exposure than other wind turbines. This phenomenon can be conspicuous in a mixed layout that consists of turbines with different capacities and hub heights. In this study, we developed and tested a new objective function to increase wind farm energy output while making the wake loss of each wind turbine uniform. The purpose of this function is to adjust the wake effects of all of the wind turbines on a wind farm to similar levels, thereby promoting the operational stability of all of the wind turbines. Layout optimization was performed using a simulated annealing algorithm, which is a heuristic method, with actual wind conditions for an existing wind farm in operation. Then, the results obtained using the proposed method were compared with those yielded by layout optimization for energy maximization. The layout generated using the proposed objective function had lower energy output than that obtained by energy maximization. However, this difference was small and the proposed method prevented wake effect concentration on specific turbines by making the wake effect levels uniform.