Annualized wind energy improvement using variable speeds

Abstract

To optimize the operation of a wind turbine, variable turbine speeds are desirable. To determine the advantages of a variable-speed turbine, the annualized energy production of the turbine needs to be considered. This is done by using a Rayleigh probability distribution to determine the number of hours of a particular wind speed which occur in a given year. This distribution is used with the aerodynamic power generated at a given average wind speed to determine the total energy generated during the year. The total energy for fixed- and variable-speed turbine control are compared. The variable-speed turbines show improved energy production over constant-speed systems.