Optimising the layout of a wind park in terms of energy output and environmental intrusion

The increasing number of wind parks, usually installed at highly conspicuous sites, in connection with the sensitivity of the public on environmental issues, has lead to some problems on their social acceptability. The sustainable development of wind energy must thus secure local support, which can be achieved by informing residents on the future look of their area. At the same time, the layout of a park directly affects the park's energy output and economic viability. To that end, the Wind Park Wanderer (WPW) tool has been developed to help the designer reach the optimum point in terms of energy output and cash flows on one hand and environmental intrusion on the other. The tool runs on a powerful hardware platform comprising commercial and application software and is fully operated through a graphic user interface. The installation of a 3MW wind park is addressed using the WPW tool and three scenarios in terms of turbine size and number of turbines are hereby examined with respect to their visual and noise impact on one hand and energy and cash flows on the other.