Power output of offshore wind farms in relation to atmospheric stability

Abstract

Atmospheric stability is known to influence wind farm power output, by affecting power losses due to wakes. This research tries to answer what atmospheric stability does to the power production and how conventional simulations using the Jensen wake model compare and can be improved. Data is used from two offshore wind farms, Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ) and North Hoyle. Stability distributions are determined using metmast data. By combining this data with the production data, the influence of stability on the power output is studied. It is found that very unstable conditions result in higher power output (i.e. smaller wake losses) than near-neutral conditions, and these again show higher power output than during very stable conditions. Differences in normalized power output of 10-20% exist between the very unstable and very stable conditions. Simulations can be improved by adapting the wake decay constant (WDC). Observed WDC values are k ≥ TI, as opposed to the conventional k ≈ 0.5TI. A hypothesis for further research is proposed regarding the influence of vertical turbulence.