Wake up to pitfalls of flawed wind turbine placement

Optimising the placement of turbines within a wind farm can significantly increase energy extraction, but only up to a point.

Researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC have revealed by computational study that power generation efficiency plummets once wind farms get beyond a certain size.

They investigated wind turbines’ effect on the airflow around them and, consequently, the ability of nearby turbines to extract energy from that airflow.