A GRASP-VNS algorithm for optimal wind-turbine placement in wind farms

The wake effect is the key factor affecting the low efficiency of wind power production. It is very important to predict the relationship between the cost and the produced power for various wind-turbine placements under various wind speeds and directions. This paper proposes a GRASP-VNS algorithm for the optimal placement of wind turbines. Four different wind-farm conditions were considered: (a) uniform wind with single direction, (b) uniform wind with variable directions, (c) non-uniform wind with variable directions, and (d) non-uniform and variable-direction wind with land constraint. The proposed GRASP-VNS algorithm combines two well-known metaheuristics, GRASP and VNS, to create additional advantages in yielding the search trajectory. Intensive experiments assuming the four wind-farm conditions were performed. Statistical analyses show that the proposed GRASP-VNS algorithm significantly outperforms three existing GA-based methods. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.