TY - JOUR
T1 - Research challenges and needs for the deployment of wind energy in hilly and mountainous regions
AU - Clifton, Andrew
AU - Barber, Sarah
AU - Stökl, Alexander
AU - Frank, Helmut
AU - Karlsson, Timo
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support. Andrew Clifton was supported by the Ministerium fürWissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg (WindForS Geschäftstelle).
Funding Information:
Andrew Clifton was supported by the Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg (WindForS Geschäftstelle). This open-access publication was funded by the University of Stuttgart.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Andrew Clifton et al.
PY - 2022/11/8
Y1 - 2022/11/8
N2 - The continuing transition to renewable energy will require more wind turbines to be installed and operated on land and offshore. On land, wind turbines will increasingly be deployed in hilly or mountainous regions, which are often described together as "complex terrain"in the wind energy industry. These areas can experience complex flows that are hard to model, as well as cold climate conditions that lead to instrument and blade icing and can further impact wind turbine operation. This paper - a collaboration between several International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Tasks and research groups based in mountainous countries - sets out the research and development needed to improve the financial competitiveness and ease of integration of wind energy in hilly or mountainous regions. The focus of the paper is on the interaction between the atmosphere, terrain, land cover, and wind turbines, during all stages of a project life cycle. The key needs include collaborative research and development facilities, improved wind and weather models that can cope with mountainous terrain, frameworks for sharing data, and a common, quantitative definition of site complexity. Addressing these needs will be essential for the affordable and reliable large-scale deployment of wind energy in many countries across the globe. Because of the widespread nature of complex flow and icing conditions, addressing these challenges will have positive impacts on the risk and cost of energy from wind energy globally.
AB - The continuing transition to renewable energy will require more wind turbines to be installed and operated on land and offshore. On land, wind turbines will increasingly be deployed in hilly or mountainous regions, which are often described together as "complex terrain"in the wind energy industry. These areas can experience complex flows that are hard to model, as well as cold climate conditions that lead to instrument and blade icing and can further impact wind turbine operation. This paper - a collaboration between several International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Tasks and research groups based in mountainous countries - sets out the research and development needed to improve the financial competitiveness and ease of integration of wind energy in hilly or mountainous regions. The focus of the paper is on the interaction between the atmosphere, terrain, land cover, and wind turbines, during all stages of a project life cycle. The key needs include collaborative research and development facilities, improved wind and weather models that can cope with mountainous terrain, frameworks for sharing data, and a common, quantitative definition of site complexity. Addressing these needs will be essential for the affordable and reliable large-scale deployment of wind energy in many countries across the globe. Because of the widespread nature of complex flow and icing conditions, addressing these challenges will have positive impacts on the risk and cost of energy from wind energy globally.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85142653392&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/wes-7-2231-2022
DO - 10.5194/wes-7-2231-2022
M3 - Review Article
AN - SCOPUS:85142653392
SN - 2366-7443
VL - 7
SP - 2231
EP - 2254
JO - Wind Energy Science
JF - Wind Energy Science
IS - 6
ER -