Yaw optimization
Turn hidden energy losses into quantifiable energy gains
DNV’s yaw optimization service employs the high-frequency data recorded by a wind turbine to identify yaw misalignments and non-optimal yawing behaviour.
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Yaw optimization
The yaw system of a wind turbine is responsible for the orientation of the wind turbine rotor towards the wind. When operating correctly, wind turbines constantly track the wind and adjust their angle to ensure they’re pointing directly into the wind flow. This yawing behaviour ensures that the turbine extracts the maximum amount of energy from the wind at any given moment.
However, various factors can impact in the yaw alignment or a wind turbine and cause other non-optimal yawing behaviours, leading to reduced energy output and revenue loses for owners and operators.
Although yaw misalignment is a growing concern for many wind farm owners and operators, it can be notoriously difficult to detect.
But DNV can help you address the underperformance and revenue loss caused by yaw misalignment in wind turbines.
Our service
DNV’s yaw optimization service employs the high-frequency data recorded by a wind turbine to identify yaw misalignments and non-optimal yawing behaviour.
By accessing high-frequency wind turbine data, we can conduct a number of different yaw optimization analyses. The results from these analyses have been compelling, in many cases showing misalignments that, when corrected, present energy gains of over 1%.
A key feature of this service is that it does not require the installation of additional hardware, which can be costly.
How we’re helping out customers
We’ve supported Taaleri, an investor and manager of 1.6 GW portfolio of renewables assets in Europe, the US and the Middle East. Taleeri had concerns about the performance of a subset of its fleet and requested that DNV investigate a range potential issues, including yaw alignment. We identified that one turbine had a very different yawing behaviour than the other turbines in the wind farm. It appeared to be taking much longer to yaw each time the wind changed direction. As well as having a slow yawing response, the same turbine had three times as many yaw operations than the other turbines and was also reporting far more yaw-system-related alarms. All the data and investigations pointed to mechanical resistance in the yaw mechanism. This particular issue was costing the Taleeri EUR 7,000 per year in lost revenue.
Frequently asked questions
Turn hidden energy losses into quantifiable energy gains
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The possible causes of yaw misalignment are often related to the incorrect measurement of the wind direction. This may be due to a miscalibration of the wind vane, an instrument used to show the direction of the wind. It may also be due to a distortion of the wind flow where the wind direction at the measurement point (normally behind the rotor) is not the same as the wind direction in front of the rotor.
