Building the Foundation for Smart Wind Farms through First-Order Controls Opportunities based on Real-Time Observations of Complex Flows

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PI: Hirth, BrianProposal Number: 1336935Institution: Texas Tech UniversityTitle: Building the Foundation for Smart Wind Farms through First-Order Controls Opportunities based on Real-Time Observations of Complex FlowsReducing the cost of wind energy requires optimization of new and existing wind farms, which is inherently dependent on understanding the complex flows within and surrounding them, and using this knowledge to develop more advanced control systems. Complex flows within wind farms result from turbine wakes, heterogeneous local terrain and roughness, and the natural variability in atmospheric boundary layer flow. Existing numerical simulations used to plan wind farm installations fail to accurately represent these complex flows, and current wind turbines are optimized for autonomous operation with minimal recognition of their surroundings or interaction with neighboring turbines. Observations of the complex flows within and surrounding wind farms are exceedingly limited owing to significant instrumentation costs and inherent spatial coverage shortcomings of current technologies. This project will provide innovative data collection technologies, strategies, and analysis techniques to document the complex flow fields across several operational wind farms. Through industrial partnerships, this information will be integrated with operational turbine data and controls to construct transformative methods for developing the first generation of "smart" wind farms.This project leverages recently-developed Doppler radar technologies and innovative methodologies to provide an unprecedented assessment of the complex flows within and surrounding wind farms. Generated wind field products will be coupled with operational turbine and available meteorological data to provide flow field validation, comparison of radar derived and actual power output, and investigation of individual turbine and array performance. Supplemental access to first-order control opportunities (e.g. yawing a turbine slightly out of the wind to deflect the resulting wake away from a downstream turbine) within a research-scale wind farm and several full-scale operational wind farms will enhance the development of intelligent control systems.The use of specialized Doppler research radars to characterize wind farm flow fields represents a paradigm shift for measurement campaigns within the wind energy community. The high spatial and temporal resolutions and larger observational footprints allow for the identification of shortcomings within the current numerical simulations and modeling efforts. Integration of the operational turbine data provides an opportunity to investigate performance optimization spanning individual turbines to large turbine arrays. First-order controls opportunities provide a foundation to develop ?smart? wind farms through the creation of proactive, networked control systems capable of maximizing the total power output from an entire turbine array. Such intelligence, even in a basic form, does not currently exist. Implementation of these data collection and analyses methodologies in wind farm planning, design, deployment, and operation offer the potential to revolutionize wind energy world-wide.Beyond the integration into available undergraduate and graduate coursework, the technological advancements embodied within this interdisciplinary research project will also be reduced into several course modules targeting K-12 student groups. These modules, along with access to the radar technology, will be delivered to local student groups by the graduate students and faculty associated with the project, including underrepresented groups, to introduce the next-generation of scientists and engineers to the basics of wind energy, remote sensing, atmospheric science, controls, and aerodynamics. The unique and close collaboration with industry partners throughout this project will foster methodologies, products, and procedures that will have an immediate impact on existing wind farm operation and new wind farm design and layout. This project carries the potential to transform current wind energy practices to ultimately increase wind farm power output leading to a reduction in the cost of energy.