ReSoft WindFarm - Optimisation Module

• Apply constraints on turbine separation, separation from houses, noise and ground slope
• Use arbitrary boundaries with the turbines being inside or outside
• Optimise selected turbines leaving the locations fixed for the remainder

The optimum required may be the maximum energy yield or the minimum cost of energy and the module uses turbine geometry and power information and takes into account the wind speed and direction distribution for the site, turbulence, the site topography, and the wake effects.

Calculating the optimum layout of wind turbines on hypothetical sites, with few practical restrictions, is a fairly easily tractable problem. Applying optimisation algorithms to real sites necessitates incorporating the many constraints that exist for real sites. These include land ownership boundaries, wake effects of one turbine on another, noise levels at nearby dwellings, natural restrictions such as steep slopes, rivers and bogs and planning constraints. As the program is required for sites where the topography is complex the variations in wind flow across the site are also included.