Researchers in Denmark have discovered that subtle realignments of wind turbines can produce output gains of as much as 23 per cent.
That’s potentially good news for wind farms – particularly those suffering declines in output because too many turbines have been placed in the same area. But they warn that the strategy is not without risks – getting the angle wrong by a few degrees could turn a promising production into a power loss.
The authors of the paper – published in the latest edition of Wind Energy Science – say “wake steering” involves turning the nacelle of a wind turbine slightly away from the wind.
The new rotation, or yaw, redirects the eddying airstream behind it, reducing the impact of the wake on turbines further back on the site.
The strategy is that by slightly reducing the power of turbines at the front of a wind farm, those further back will produce more power.
