Operating a wind turbine generator with a yaw misalignment to compensate for wind shear effects

摘要

A method of reducing the stress load in a wind turbine rotor comprising determining the wind direction and yawing the wind turbine rotor such that the plane of the rotor is substantially non-perpendicular to the wind direction so that cyclic stress components are induced in the wind turbine rotor that are out of phase with the inherent natural stress components, thereby reducing the amplitude of the overall stress load in the wind turbine. Preferably the method further comprises determining the wind shear across a turbine blade, determining the degree of yawing required to induce an out of phase stress component sufficient to reduce the overall stress in the rotor and yawing the turbine rotor by a determined amount. Preferably the wind turbine is operated at above rated power.