A French research team analyzed nearly three years of wind and turbulence measurements over a 140-hectare photovoltaic park in southwestern France, comparing it with a nearby pine forest to understand airflow behavior above PV canopies. They found that wind direction relative to panel rows strongly controls turbulence and drag, and they developed a generalized wind-profile parameterization to better represent PV parks in land–atmosphere and weather models.
A research team from France has studied the wind flow dynamics over PV power plants. Based on their findings, the team also proposed a generalized parameterization of the mean wind velocity profile for PV canopies, enabling the introduction of directional aerodynamic effects of PV parks into land–atmosphere models.
“While the effect of PV parks on local wind flow has been studied through modeling or wind-tunnel experiments, long-term field measurements of turbulence over a full-scale PV park remain scarce,” corresponding author Shunko Bolsée told pv magazine. “Our study is based on nearly three years of continuous wind and turbulence measurements above a 140-hectare PV park in southwestern France, compared directly with a nearby pine forest.”
