Optimization of wind farm layout with complex land divisions

• Published in: Renewable energy Vol. 105; pp. 30 - 40
• Main Authors: Wang, Longyan, Tan, Andy C.C., Cholette, Michael E., Gu, Yuantong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2017
• Subjects: Complex land divisions; Constraint handling technique; Layout optimization; Wind farm; Complex land divisions; Layout optimization; Wind farm; Constraint handling technique
• ISSN: 0960-1481; 1879-0682
• DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2016.12.025

The study of wind farm layout optimization considering the decisions of land owners has rarely been reported in literature. In this paper, the common situation of complex land divisions (e.g. unequally-spaced plots) is addressed for the first time. A new constraint handling and fitness evaluation technique is developed to address the more complex wind farm boundaries and integrated into two common wind farm optimization approaches: the grid based method and the unrestricted coordinate method. Enable by the new technique, a numerical optimization study is conducted with the goal of evaluating the impact of the participation of land owners on the economic performance of the wind farm. In particular, two scenarios are considered: 1) the varying land plot scenario, where the land plot availability is included in the decision variables of the optimization, and 2) the sequential land plot scenario, where the land plot availability is fixed prior to optimization. The study reveals that the unrestricted coordinate method under the sequential land plot scenario yields the best optimization results, with the smallest cost of energy and the largest wind farm efficiency.
•The problem of wind farm layout optimization with complex land divisions is studied systematically for the first time.•Different wind farm design methods are applied to tackle the problem by comparison.•To apply the different methods, a new constraint handling technique together with means of fitness evaluation is proposed.•The comparison of two different land plot scenario studies is made.•The best option for tackling the wind farm layout optimization problem is concluded based on the discussion.