Improving the Accuracy of Wind Turbine Power Curve Validation by the Rotor Equivalent Wind Speed Concept

The measurement of the wind speed at hub height is part of the current IEC standard procedure for the power curve validation of wind turbines. The inherent assumption is thereby made that this measured hub height wind speed sufficiently represents the wind speed across the entire rotor area. It is very questionable, however, whether the hub height wind speed (HEWS) method is appropriate for rotor sizes of commercial state-of-the-art wind turbines. The rotor equivalent wind speed (HEWS) concept, in which the wind velocities are measured at several different heights across the rotor area, is deemed to be better suited to represent the wind speed in power curve measurements and thus results in more accurate predictions of the annual energy production (AEP) of the turbine. The present paper compares the estimated AEP, based on HHWS power curves, of two different commercial wind turbines to the AEP that is based on REWS power curves. The REWS was determined by LiDAR measurements of the wind velocities at ten different heights across the rotor area. It is shown that a REWS power curve can, depending on the wind shear profile, result in higher, equal or lower AEP estimations compared to the AEP predicted by a HEWS power curve.