Skip to Content

The power produced by a wind turbine is given by a simple formula:

P=1/2 x the density of air x the area swept out by the turbines x (the windspeed)^3

Clearly the most important variable is windspeed. The area swept out by of the turbine is a constant and the density of air is generally taken as 1.225 kg/m^3, its value at sea level at 15 degrees C.

Today, Zénó Farkas from Eotvos University in Hungary, points out that the density of air is not constant. And that taking it into account is a relatively straightforward and valuable exercise when calculating the power that a turbine can produce.

To prove the point, he took standard air temperature, pressure and relative humidity measurements to calculate the air density at a wind farm in Hungary over a period from 2004 to 2006. His calculations show that, in that time, the pressure varied by more than 20 per cent.

He then used a neural network to fit the data from the wind speed and air density to the curve of the actual power produced at the windfarm. In fact, he used data from 2005 and 2005 to train the net and the data from 2006 to test it.

The result was a significantly improved estimate of the power production. Compared to the estimate using a constant air density, Farkas says his results are 16 per cent more accurate.

So that’s an easy way to improve power estimates from wind farms. It’s the kind of simple but effective science that can sometimes make a difference .

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1103.2198: Considering Air Density in Wind Power Production

You can now follow The Physics arXiv Blog on Twitter

Keep Reading

Most Popular

This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI

The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models. 

Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist

An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.

The Biggest Questions: What is death?

New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.

Data analytics reveal real business value

Sophisticated analytics tools mine insights from data, optimizing operational processes across the enterprise.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.