Multidisciplinary Wind Farm Electrical Infrastructure Optimization

During the construction stage of a wind farm, it is paramount to consider which layouts are the most efficient. Recent literature has found that optimization of the annual energy production is not necessarily driven by the same factors as other economic metrics, such as the internal rate of return. One parameter that makes this particularly true is the electrical cable length and layout, which affect both the cash flow of the project and the investments. While placing turbines far from each other is beneficial to mitigate the wake effect, the capital expenditures associated with the longer cables affects economic metrics. On the other hand, even though placing turbines close to each other reduces cable expenses, wind turbine mechanical loads are challenging to determine from wake effects. This work investigates trends between annual energy production, internal rate of return, electrical cable layout, and turbine components degradation due to mechanical loads. Results point towards corroborating recent literature, finding financial opportunities to explore tighter layouts with shorter electrical cables.