Effect of Derating and Shutting Down of Turbines on the Extracted Power of Large Wind Farms in Thermally-Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Abstract:

Wind power is being increasingly employed to help meet an increasing energy demand in a more environmentally friendly manner and, consequently, large wind farms consisting of thousands of turbines have been constructed and deployed in various areas. Due to a multitude of factors, the layout of these multi-turbine arrays is not always optimized for maximum wind farm power extraction. Additionally, the shutting down or derating of certain wind turbines may impact the efficiency of large wind farms. In this study, a large eddy simulation (LES) of a fully developed wind turbine array boundary layer is performed in thermally stratified conditions. The impact on the overall plant performance, quantified by the collective extracted power of the turbines, is explored using a systematic shut down and derating of selected turbines.