Location of Wind Electric Turbines & Farms

It's surprising how much the wind speed can vary within a fairly small area and how huge is the impact of that on the wind turbine performance.

The location of a wind power system is indeed crucial, and you should determine the best possible location for your wind turbine (or wind farm…) in order to capture the most available wind.  And to get that, you should pay attention to the wind speeds, terrains, obstructions, prevailing winds patterns, aesthetics and other potential impacts...

See:
Offshore & Wind farms location
Offshore vs onshore wind systems
 

Wind speed

When locating a wind turbine take into account the site’s average wind speeds. Minimum wind speeds of 11 to 13 miles per hour (6 meters per second) are indispensable.

Small differences in the wind speed make big differences, since the electricity produced by a wind turbine is the cube of the wind speed. An example: all other things being equal, a site with 16 miles per hour average winds instead of 14 will generate 50% more electricity.

Location & Terrains

On onshore systems the highest point is often the one with the best winds. But there are elements that should be considered, and several constrictions. Valleys, mountains and forests or simply large sets of trees and fences may have a big impact on the wind direction and speed and on the best location of a wind system. You should study the wind patterns in connection with terrains.

The site's geology may also be an issue to pay attention to. It should be appropriate for industrial development.

Besides, small wind turbines should be installed on sufficient large lots, with as few obstructions as possible. The possible (yet rather conjectural) exception is the urban wind generators. 

Trees, Buildings and Other Obstructions

When mounting an onshore wind turbine you should site your turbine in a high-wind area, far enough from buildings, treetops, fences, etc. Find a good clearing, and put the wind turbine on a sufficiently tall tower.

The height of a small turbine tower is an important element to consider. The height of the surrounding obstructions should be taken into account: the height of the tower should place the bottom of the turbine blades at least 10 meter / 30 feet above the top of any obstacle within 100 meters/300 feet of the tower.

The image below represents a good view of the way wind obstructions may act, and the the way to escape them.


 
Source: US DOE


To see how tall a wind tower should be mounted, see:
Wind Towers Height and Types
See also:
Wind speed and wind maps


Location & Prevailing Winds

Wind direction may vary a lot, but there are prevailing directions that you should take into account. The turbine should face the prevailing winds. And they should get the turbine without any obstruction.

Local Requirements

Take into account local requirements when planning a wind system site. They vary, and may include environmental assessments, studies on the impact on the wildlife or communications (the flight path of local air traffic, for instance), etc.

See, for more information: Legal requirements

Environmental issues

In the case of large or medium wind turbines and systems, an environmental impact assessment involving potential noise or wildlife impact may be necessary.

Noise is often a concern to nearby people and communities, though also a rather dislocated fear: at a distance of 600 feet, a wind turbine is a very quite device, no noisier than a common refrigerator…

The impact on wildlife and namely birds are also part of most environmental studies involving wind systems. They will help to determine whether any local species might be at risk.

Wind turbines Location & Aesthetics

Aesthetics is often between the major objections to the development of wind systems, and a question that shouldn't be minimized when studying their location. To get high wind speeds, turbines have often to be located on high and very visible places, with possible negative aesthetics impacts.

Transmission infrastructure

When selecting a site, the existence and proximity of high voltage lines is an important advantage, either when developing a wind farm or when projecting an on-grid small wind farm. Running a power line to a remote site from the utility grid involves high costs: $15,000 to more than $50,000 per mile, depending on the type of ground...

See, for more information: Legal requirements

Offshore & Wind systems locations

The offshore location of wind farms may allow some very important advantages over onshore locations:

- availability of large areas, particularly suitable for major projects;
- higher wind speeds: in most cases the wind speeds increase with the distance from the shore.
- less turbulence and inexistence of obstructions as buildings, mountains, etc., and consequently more favorable wind patterns and less negative wind loads and a higher wind turbine lifetime.
- lower winds, allowing the use of relatively shorter towers.





See, for more information:
Wind Energy Basics

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