Optimization of Wind Farm Design Layout based on the Non-Uniform Spacing Algorithm between Wind Turbines

Abstract The optimization of wind turbine layout is an important step during the design phase of wind farms, which directly influences the overall power performance and the profitability of the wind plants. The spacing distance between the wind turbines, which is often inconsistent in the prevailing wind direction and other directions, is the critical factor of wind turbine array layout optimization. With the considerations of the wind turbines’ safety in operation and the maximum utilization of wind energy resources comprehensively, an elliptic-constrained wind turbine layout optimization model is proposed in this paper. The stochastic optimal algorithm including the constraint checking and random searching processes is established to conduct the iterative calculation. It is proved that the annual energy production of the elliptic-constrained model with non-uniform spacing has increased in comparison with the conventional method. The proposed approach provides an effective engineering solution for improving the space utilization and the power output estimation of the wind farm.