EAGER: Innovative Energy Farm Design

EAGER奖的研究目标是开发智能优化搜索策略，以设计风力发电场和太阳能发电场等替代能源基础设施的配置。 目标是确定发电机应位于环境中的何处，以及每个发电机应具有哪些属性，同时随时允许纳入正在开发的发电机和电网技术。 这种探索性的研究不同于目前的方法，这些方法基于也使用固定生成器配置的规则模式或网格。 有机会显着改善能源农场的设计，通过确定新的模式的发电机位置的基础上搜索策略，联合收割机连续的全球和本地的方法来配置。 除了位置之外，每个生成器的更多属性（例如，风力涡轮机的类型和能力或太阳能电池板的尺寸和能力）可以被考虑和改变以进一步提高整体性能。如果成功，交付的成果将包括一个软件系统，该系统将有关环境（地形、风速和风向等）的全面和真实的信息作为输入。并输出最有效且高效地产生能量的发电机的布局。 这项探索性赠款将为研究替代能源发电机的放置和设计的新方法以及使用这种软件系统的有效方法提供基础。 这项工作将有助于能源发电设计，优化和设计方法的领域。

The research objective of this EAGER award is to develop an intelligent optimization search strategy to design the configuration of alternative energy infrastructure such as wind farms and solar farms. The goal is to determine where generators should be located in an environment and what attributes should be associated with each generator, while readily allowing for the inclusion of developing generator and electricity grid technologies. This exploratory research differs from current approaches that are based off of a regular pattern or lattice that also use fixed generator configurations. There is opportunity to significantly improve energy farm design by identifying new patterns of generator locations based on search strategies that combine continuous global and local approaches to configuration. In addition to location, more attributes of each generator (e.g., the type and capability of a wind turbine or the size and capacity of a solar panel) can be considered and varied to further improve overall performance. If successful, deliverables will include a software system that takes as input thorough and realistic information about the environment (terrain, wind speeds and directions, etc.) and outputs a layout of generators that most effectively and efficiently produce energy. This exploratory grant will provide the basis to investigate novel approaches for placement and design of alternative energy generators, and effective ways to use such a software system. The work will contribute to the fields of energy generation design, optimization, and design methods.