Long-Term Energy Capture and the Effects of Optimizing Wind-Turbine Operating Strategies

摘要

One of the major factors driving the evolutionary design of wind turbines is the cost of energy (COE). The COE for electricity produced by any means is based on three primary factors: capital costs plus operating and maintenance (O and M) costs divided by the number of kilowatt hours produced per year. Obviously an increase in production of energy has the positive effect of decreasing the cost of energy produced by a wind turbine. A research effort has been established to determine the possible methods of increasing energy capture without affecting the turbine design. The emphasis has been on optimizing the wind turbine operating strategy. The operating strategy embodies the startup and shutdown algorithm as well as the algorithm for determining when to yaw (rotate) the axis of the turbine more directly into the wind. Using data collected at a number of sites, the time-dependent simulation of a MOD-2 wind turbine using various, site-dependent operating strategies has provided evidence that site-specific fine tuning can produce significant increases in long-term energy capture as well as reduce the number of start-stop cycles and yawing maneuvers, which may result in reduced fatigue and subsequent maintenance. (ERA citation 07:010561)