Gradient-Based Optimization of Wind Farms with Different Turbine Heights: Preprint

Katherine Dykes, Paul Fleming, Andrew Stanley, Jared Thomas, Andrew Ning

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

Turbine wakes reduce power production in a wind farm. Current wind farms are generally built with turbines that are all the same height, but if wind farms included turbines with different tower heights, the cost of energy (COE) may be reduced. We used gradient-based optimization to demonstrate a method to optimize wind farms with varied hub heights. Our study includes a modified version of the FLORIS wake model that accommodates three-dimensional wakes integrated with a tower structural model. Our purpose was to design a process to minimize the COE of a wind farm through layout optimization and varying turbine hub heights. Results indicate that when a farm is optimized for layout and height with two separate height groups, COE can be lowered by as much as 5%-9%, compared to a similar layout and height optimization where all the towers are the same. The COE has the best improvement in farms with high turbine density and a low wind shear exponent.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages16
StatePublished - 2017
EventAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech 2017 - Dallas, Texas
Duration: 16 Jan 201720 Jan 2017

Conference

ConferenceAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech 2017
CityDallas, Texas
Period16/01/1720/01/17

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5000-67661

Keywords

  • gradient-based optimization
  • optimization
  • systems engineering
  • wind plant design
  • wind plant layout optimization

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