With a little help from the wind
At EPFL’s Laboratory of Wind Engineering and Renewable Energy (WIRE), researchers are studying wind movements in the lower part of the atmosphere, and this research is helping to optimize the positioning of turbines in wind farms.
Wind power is generating more and more interest. Among all the sources of renewable energy, it’s the one which is developing most rapidly worldwide. It was therefore logical that EPFL dedicate a new unit to it: the Laboratory of Wind Engineering and Renewable Energy (WIRE), which was founded earlier this year.
“Many countries have decided to develop this energy”, comments Professor Fernando Porté-Agel, who arrived at EPFL at the beginning of the year to head up the new lab. “For example, the United States have set themselves the goal of increasing the proportion of wind energy from 2% currently to 20% by 2030”. In Europe, and in order of importance, Denmark, Germany and Spain are the countries which invest most in this area.
The role of the lab is to study wind and its interactions with the environment (mountains, lakes, towns) in the lowest layer of the atmosphere, at 1 km altitude. “This is a critical level, where currents are constantly changing in nature, manifesting maximum levels of turbulence and influencing the weather” explains Professor Porté-Agel.
The principal aims of this research are to better anticipate the trajectory and dispersion of certain pollutants, and to preserve the quality of the air, to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and even to optimize the design of wind farms. “We calculate the optimal distance between the wind turbines and their positioning, which ensures maximum capacity, explains the Professor. Taking the environment into account, we can increase the yield by between 10% and 30%.”
The team often uses computer-based simulation to create models that predict the behavior of the wind, according to parameters such as topography or temperature. However, experimental research also remains an important factor. Over and above the information-gathering phase planned for the beginning of 2011 in Spain, and including the two wind turbines near Martigny, Switzerland, experiments will be performed in EPFL’s wind-tunnel, which is being renovated and re-equipped. The laboratory is also participating in the building of a similar kind of tunnel for EPFL Middle East, the campus under construction in the United Arab Emirates. More performant than the one in Lausanne, this new installation will also enable the control of air and soil temperatures.
Picture: (c) Malkolm/ Creative Commons