Wind Energy 

About: Wind Energy is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Wind power & Turbine. It has an ISSN identifier of 1095-4244. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 1747 publications have been published receiving 71103 citations.

Beyond NIMBYism: Towards an integrated framework for understanding public perceptions of wind energy

Abstract: It is widely recognised that public acceptability often poses a barrier towards renewable energy development. This article reviews existing research on public perceptions of wind energy, where opposition is typically characterized by the NIMBY (not in my back yard) concept. The objectives of the article are to provide a critical assessment of past research and an integrated, multidimensional framework to guide future work. Six distinct strands of research are identified, summarized and critiqued: public support for switching from conventional energy sources to wind energy; aspects of turbines associated with negative perceptions; the impact of physical proximity to turbines; acceptance over time of wind farms; NIMBYism as an explanation for negative perceptions; and, finally, the impact of local involvement on perceptions. Research across these strands is characterized by opinion poll studies of general beliefs and case studies of perceptions of specific developments. In both cases, research is fragmented and has failed to adequately explain, rather than merely describe, perceptual processes. The article argues for more theoretically informed empirical research, grounded in social science concepts and methods. A multidimensional framework is proposed that goes beyond the NIMBY label and integrates previous findings with social and environmental psychological theory. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analytical modelling of wind speed deficit in large offshore wind farms

Abstract: The proposed model for the wind speed deficit in wind farms is analytical and encompasses both small wind farms and wind farms extending over large areas. As is often the need for offshore wind farms, the model handles a regular array geometry with straight rows of wind turbines and equidistant spacing between units in each row and equidistant spacing between rows. Firstly, the case with the flow direction being parallel to rows in a rectangular geometry is considered by defining three flow regimes. Secondly, when the flow is not in line with the main rows, solutions are suggested for the patterns of wind turbine units corresponding to each wind direction. The presentation is an outline of a model complex that will be adjusted and calibrated with measurements in the near future. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Individual Blade Pitch Control for Load Reduction

Abstract: If a pitch-regulated wind turbine has individual pitch actuators for each blade, the possibility arises to send different pitch angle demands to each blade. The possibility of using this as a way of reducing loads has been suggested many times over the years, but the idea has yet to gain full commercial acceptance. There are a number of reasons why this situation may be set to change, and very significant load reductions can result. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modelling and measuring flow and wind turbine wakes in large wind farms offshore

Abstract: Average power losses due to wind turbine wakes are of the order of 10 to 20% of total power output in large offshore wind farms. Accurately quantifying power losses due to wakes is, therefore, an important part of overall wind farm economics. The focus of this research is to compare different types of models from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to wind farm models in terms of how accurately they represent wake losses when compared with measurements from offshore wind farms. The ultimate objective is to improve modelling of flow for large wind farms in order to optimize wind farm layouts to reduce power losses due to wakes and loads. The research presented is part of the EC-funded UpWind project, which aims to radically improve wind turbine and wind farm models in order to continue to improve the costs of wind energy. Reducing wake losses, or even reduce uncertainties in predicting power losses from wakes, contributes to the overall goal of reduced costs. Here, we assess the state of the art in wake and flow modelling for offshore wind farms, the focus so far has been cases at the Horns Rev wind farm, which indicate that wind farm models require modification to reduce under-prediction of wake losses while CFD models typically over-predict wake losses. Further investigation is underway to determine the causes of these discrepancies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Review of computational fluid dynamics for wind turbine wake aerodynamics

Abstract: This article reviews the state-of-the-art numerical calculation of wind turbine wake aerodynamics. Different computational fluid dynamics techniques for modeling the rotor and the wake are discussed. Regarding rotor modeling, recent advances in the generalized actuator approach and the direct model are discussed, as far as it attributes to the wake description. For the wake, the focus is on the different turbulence models that are employed to study wake effects on downstream turbines.