Design of self-made wind farm

How can MIT improve wind farms' energy output?

MIT engineers have developed a method to increase wind farms’ energy output. Whereas individual turbines are typically controlled separately, the new approach models the wind flow of the entire collection of turbines and optimizes the control of individual units.

How can a new wind turbine model help a wind farm?

For example, operators of wind farms must constantly adjust a variety of parameters, including the orientation of each turbine as well as its rotation speed and the angle of its blades, in order to maximize power output while maintaining safety margins. The new model can provide a simple, speedy way of optimizing those factors in real time.

Could a new rotor model improve wind turbine design?

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. A new model accurately represents the airflow around rotors, even under extreme conditions. Developed by MIT engineers, the model could improve the way turbine blades and wind farms are designed.

Can a wind farm increase energy output?

Now, engineers at MIT and elsewhere have found that, with no need for any new investment in equipment, the energy output of such wind farm installations can be increased by modeling the wind flow of the entire collection of turbines and optimizing the control of individual units accordingly.

What is a wind energy model?

“It’s an engineering model developed for fast-running tools for rapid prototyping and control and optimization,” Howland says. “The goal of our modeling is to position the field of wind energy research to move more aggressively in the development of the wind capacity and reliability necessary to respond to climate change.”

What is a wind farm layout?

Designing wind farm (WF) layout refers to find the optimal placement of each individual WT from others inside the specific WF boundaries. However, the quality and quantity of expected power produced by WF are generally reduced by various sources of losses in which wake effect is considered the most influencing one .