There are currently thirteen wind farms in Denmark and several scheduled for future installation. While such plans are important steps towards a greener future, one needs to be aware of clusters of wind farms positioned close together, as it may have certain disadvantages. In the new 'OffshoreWake' project, DTU Wind Energy and Vattenfall look at how to properly position wind farms and avoid the probability of wind turbines stealing wind from one another.

Project Manager at DTU Wind Energy, Xiaoli Guo Larsén explains:

- If you do not think strategically about the location of major wind farms, the electricity production from other nearby wind farms may be reduced, she says.

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The shadow effect
Such a problem is caused by the so-called shadow effect. When a wind turbine is hit by wind and it utilises it to produce electricity, there will be less wind available to the wind turbine behind that one. As a result, the given ‘rearward wind turbine’ – and in effect, the entire wind farm - will produce less energy.

- While the shadow effect is taken into account in current calculations, DTU Wind Energy and Vattenfall will expand calculation methods by including two additional factors, explains Xiaoli Guo Larsén.

- The two new factors are the shadow effects from nearby wind farms and ocean surface parameters such as waves. Both are important to include in the calculations, if we are to get the most out of new wind farms in the future, Xiaoli Guo Larsén adds.

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The project, scheduled for completion in April 2020, will also investigate how the shadow effect between large wind farms will affect the planning and operation of the electricity system.

Ylva Odemark, Research Director of Wind Power at Vattenfall, explains why the company decided to join the project:

- We are constantly working to develop more precise methods for estimating production from offshore wind farms. The 'OffshoreWake' project should make us even better at predicting the extent to which two wind farms may affect one another. This will reduce uncertainty and make investment decisions easier, says Ylva Odemark, Research Director of Wind Power in Vattenfall.

Contact
Senior Scientist at DTU Wind Energy, Xiaoli Guo Larsén
Tel: +45 46 77 54 78
Mail: [email protected]

- Source: DTU Wind Energy