Wind turbine wake measurement in complex terrain

SCADA data from a wind farm and high frequency time series measurements obtained with remote scanning systems have been analysed with focus on identification of wind turbine wake properties in complex terrain. The analysis indicates that within the flow regime characterized by medium to large downstream distances (more than 5 diameters) from the wake generating turbine, the wake changes according to local atmospheric conditions e.g. vertical wind speed. In very complex terrain the wake effects are often “overruled” by distortion effects due to the terrain complexity or topology.