Blockage and speedup in the proximity of an onshore wind farm: A scanning wind LiDAR experiment

To maximize the profitability of wind power plants, wind farms are often characterized by high wind turbine density leading to operations with reduced turbine spacing. As a consequence, the overall wind farm power capture is hindered by complex flow features associated with flow modifications induce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of renewable and sustainable energy 2023-09, Vol.15 (5)
Main Authors: Puccioni, M., Moss, C. F., Jacquet, C., Iungo, G. V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerodynamics
Lidar
light detection and ranging
Power plants
Profitability
Rotors
Turbines
Turbulence intensity
Velocity
Velocity distribution
Wakes
Wind effects
WIND ENERGY
Wind farms
Wind power
Wind speed
Wind turbines
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Summary:To maximize the profitability of wind power plants, wind farms are often characterized by high wind turbine density leading to operations with reduced turbine spacing. As a consequence, the overall wind farm power capture is hindered by complex flow features associated with flow modifications induced by the various wind turbine rotors. In addition to the generation of wakes, the velocity of the incoming wind field can reduce due to the increased pressure in the proximity of a single turbine rotor (named induction); a similar effect occurs at the wind-farm level (global blockage), which can have a noticeable impact on power production. On the other hand, intra-wind-farm regions featuring increased velocity compared to the freestream (speedups) have also been observed, which can be a source for a potential power boost. To quantify these rotor-induced effects on the incoming wind velocity field, three profiling LiDARs and one scanning wind LiDAR were deployed both before and after the construction of an onshore wind turbine array. The different wind conditions are classified according to the ambient turbulence intensity and streamwise/spanwise spacing among wind turbines. The analysis of the mean velocity field reveals enhanced induction and speedup under stably stratified atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, a reduced horizontal area between adjacent turbines has a small impact on the induction zone but increases significantly the speedup between adjacent rotors.
ISSN:1941-7012
1941-7012
DOI:10.1063/5.0157937