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Thinking of installations as collections of solitary turbines has drawbacks, however. Turbulent airflow and closely packed wind farms mean that while one turbine may boost its own efficiency, the wake it creates downwind might mean decreased output from other units – and lower output overall.
In 2022, research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the California Institute of Technology and Siemens Gamesa found that turning one turbine slightly away from its maximum output position could increase output from one or more downwind units, boosting overall farm output by 1.2%, or 3% during optimal wind speeds.
Now, UK-headquartered independent renewables company RES and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have partnered to license and deploy a new technology that takes a similar approach.
Known as Dynamic Yaw, the technology takes a systems approach to consider how each individual turbine on a wind farm can share data and “work as a team” to increase the overall performance of the group of turbines. Using existing turbine controller hardware, the software is designed to optimise turbine alignment through control and ‘wake steering’ techniques.
The systems approach improves overall energy efficiency, a RES announcement said, adding the equivalent of one to three wind turbines to a 100-turbine wind farm. That seemingly small change could power thousands more homes.
“The renewables industry is on the cusp of widespread digitalisation,” said Alex Bamberger, vice-president of digital solutions at RES, which has delivered more than 26GW of renewable energy projects around the world and plans to turn on more than 22GW of new capacity in the next five years.
“The Dynamic Yaw technology will help wind asset owners optimise the overall output of their assets through better utilisation of their data, and subsequent autonomous action of the asset. By sharing farm-wide data and transforming the yaw optimisation strategy of a wind farm to maximise overall performance, the Dynamic Yaw transforms a collection of individual turbines into a team.”
He added: “This technology isn’t a science project anymore, it’s real and able to help customers reach net zero much faster.”
Developed, installed and maintained by RES, and incorporating intellectual property licensed from NREL, Dynamic Yaw has been tested by RES over seven years at wind farms in the UK. The collaboration will initially target customers in the Americas, but the partners said the technology can be installed “anywhere in the world”.
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