Analysis of the Potential for Increased Power Production in an Onshore Test Wind Farm Using Active Wake Control Methods

Abstract

The total energy yield of modern wind farms is heavily influenced by the wake formations of individual turbines. Using state-of-the-art operation control methods, these wake formations normally reduce the kinetic energy in the wind flow that can be extracted by downwind-located turbines. Advanced operation control methods take wake effects into account, aiming at an increased overall energy yield of wind farms and decreased structural loads at the assets. In this paper, active wake control methods have been applied in simulation to the operation control of an onshore wind farm installed in Turkey. The simulation results show that active wake control methods offer the potential to increase the total power output depending on the current wind scenarios correlated to the wind farm layout. The wake redirection control as first method is well suited to increase the power output for large distances between the interacting turbines, whereas the axial induction control as second method was found to be ineffective regarding a positive effect on the total energy yield. However, by applying this method, the power generation can be distributed more equally across the wind turbines so that a positive impact on the mechanical stress on the most heavily loaded wind turbines of the wind farm is expected.