Aesthetic Local Search of Wind Farm Layouts

Abstract

Abstract:The visual impact of wind farm layouts has seen little consideration in the literature on the wind farm layout optimisation problem to date. Most existing algorithms focus on optimising layouts for power or the cost of energy alone. In this paper, we consider the geometry of wind farm layouts and whether it is possible to bi-optimise a layout for both energy efficiency and the degree of visual impact that the layout exhibits. We develop a novel optimisation approach for solving the problem which measures mathematically the degree of visual impact of a layout. The approach draws inspiration from the field of architecture. To evaluate our ideas, we demonstrate them on three benchmark problems for the wind farm layout optimisation problem in conjunction with two recently-published stochastic local search algorithms. Optimal patterned layouts are shown to be very close in terms of energy efficiency to optimal non-patterned layouts.

A new wake model and comparison of eight algorithms for layout optimization of wind farms in complex terrain

“…For objective functions, popular choices include power/energy production [8,9] and (levelized) cost of energy [7,10]. Other objective functions have also been used, for example, González et al [11] investigated the maximization of net present value (NPV), Mayo and Daoud [12] considered energy efficiency and the degree of visual impact simultaneously, and robustness of power production under changing wind conditions was considered in [13]. Common constraints considered in the layout optimization studies include the wind farm boundary and minimal distance requirements [4].…”

Wind farm repowering optimization: a techno‐economic‐aesthetic approach

“…It was proposed by Salingaros [29,30], as an approach to assess the aesthetics of building facade designs. Other metrics used in literature for the WF visual impact assessment are commonly based on image and the calculation of quantities, like compression ratios, or statistics related to image properties, for example, color, making them hard to be applied to non-image patterns [31]. In comparison, harmony has the advantage that it does not expect patterns to be derived from images and has been successfully applied to a square WF layout optimization problem [31].…”