Partial repowering analysis of a wind farm by turbine hub height variation to mitigate neighboring wind farm wake interference using mesoscale simulations

Abdul Haseeb Syed, Adeel Javed, Raja M. Asim Feroz, Ronald Calhoun

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Repowering augments the power generation capacity of a wind farm in order to enhance the exploitation of the high mean wind speed regions. In this study, a partial repowering strategy has been discussed for an onshore commercial-scale wind farm with deteriorated performance under the influence of wakes originating from upstream wind farms. The mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with Wind Farm Parameterization has been employed to evaluate the wind speed and power deficit observed by the individual wind turbine generators. Wakes induced by the upstream wind farms are observed to cause a reduction in wind speed and power output by up to 15% and 35%, respectively. The predicted power was also validated by the observed data for each turbine generator. The hub heights of selected wind turbines with the highest power deficit are varied to alleviate the influence of upstream wind farm wake interference. Power output and wind shear profiles have been evaluated at new hub heights of 61.5 m and 100 m, and results are compared with the existing hub height turbine generators at 80 m. Power output reduced by up to 12% at the lower hub height of 61.5 m as compared to the default case, while an increase of about 13.6% is observed for the 100 m hub height case. A mean increase of 7.5% is estimated in the total wind power generation from the wind farm under evaluation. This paper presents a theoretical and engineering platform for partial repowering of wind farms with depleted generation due to inter-farm wake interaction.

Original languageEnglish
Article number115050
JournalApplied Energy
Volume268
Early online date24 Apr 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors express great appreciation and acknowledge the technical support provided by the subject wind power companies, especially FFCEL. Authors also express appreciation to USPCAS-E NUST for providing the high-performance computing facility for the comprehensive modeling and simulations involved in this study.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Hub height variation
  • Mesoscale simulation
  • Model validation
  • Repowering
  • Wake interference
  • Wind farm

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Building and Construction
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • General Energy
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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