WINDINSPIRE deals with various interrelated research directions. For the purposes of initial organization, they are generally grouped into the following 5 Research Tasks.
Task 1: Development of tools for computational modeling of wind farm turbulence and variability, generally aiming at addressing the key research question: How can we best represent wind turbines within LES to model variability in realistic but efficient ways? Development of tools will include various levels for representing the wind turbines within our Large Eddy Simulation codes: blended IBM, actuator line – actuator disk methods. Also, models will be tested using data generated in field measurements at TTU, wind tunnel studies at TTU, and data available at DTU-Risø. TTU field studies in close collaboration with DTU-Risø.
Task 2: From wind variability to power and ramping variability.
Considerable advances have been made in site-specific short-term wind forecasting for use in power output fluctuation characterization. Work needs to be devoted to understand the following research question: how do wind farm size, layout and wind variability translate into spatio-temporal variability in power output and ramping? Proper understanding of these characteristics would allow wind farm size, layout and location optimization to include the farm’s impact on the grid rather than simply maximizing farm power production. Using the CFD- LES tools (from task 1), the team will first perform simulations varying farm parameters (spacing, ground roughness, wind farm layout), and then estimate the statistics of interest from the simulated time-series and spatial fields
Task 3: Network integration and optimization. Characterizations will be combined with transmission system models to address the following research questions:
How do wind farm parameters affect ancillary service requirements as wind penetration increases and to what extent can storage and demand response (flexible loads) be used to meet these requirements?
CFD-LES based statistics will be used to develop and validate scheduling and dispatch schemes for demand response coupled with storage and other ancillary services under a variety of wind farm conditions. They will also be used to assess the extent to which these resources can substitute for additional transmission investment in the face of increasing penetrations of distributed and variable wind power production. These questions will be initially studied within our stochastic risk-mitigated (RM) OPF framework that accounts for both traditional risks (grid failures) and uncertainty caused by the inherent intermittency of wind power.
Task 4: Integration with power markets and socio-economic impacts.
Market reforms, investment in flexible generation, and demand management are needed to manage increased supply variability under high levels of wind penetration . We will ask 3 related questions. (i) Are the mixes of demand-side, storage, generation, and smart grid technologies that were identified as efficient in Task 3 likely to be successful under present power designs and, if not, what improvements in designs and policies are needed? (ii) What are the resulting costs of managing variability, given the technologies and operating strategies that would be deployed under alternative market designs? (iii) What policy levers and market designs most effectively encourage adoption of renewable energy and demand-side management technologies? Market modeling, econometric analyses, and policy case studies will build on and extend experiences in the US, EU, and elsewhere to understand what approaches might best
Task 5: Educate and train the next generation of researchers, and practitioners in wind power engineering and provide experiences that enhance their ability to collaborate and work an international setting.