Base Module
This module is the heart of GH WindFarmer. It has all the fundamental capabilities necessary to professionally design your wind farm. Key features are a full, detailed and precise energy yield calculation, uncertainty analysis, noise modelling, mapping features and a powerful automatic layout optimiser.
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The other GH WindFarmer modules require the Base Module and offer further advanced options.
The Base Module includes:
- Uncertainty analysis with exceedence levels for the net energy yield (P90, P75, etc.)
- Interface to import wind resource data from versions 4-9 of WAsP, and compatible wind flow modelling software, (WindSim, meteodyn, Metras, WindMap etc.)
- MAP handling: import of a wide range of commonly used and generic map formats (NTF, DXF, DGW, DEM, MAP, SDTS, ASCII, BMP) and transformation between contour lines and grid based spot-height formats
- Definition of wind farm boundaries, exclusion zones and set-back distances from boundaries. Wind farms can span several separate areas
- Turbine Studio for creating a database of wind turbine specifications
- Advanced wind farm wake loss modelling (GH Eddy Viscosity Model)
- Advanced energy calculation options (e.g. use of the measured distribution, turbine specific air density, sector management, wake loss and turbulence adjustments)
- Automatic layout optimisation to design a wind farm with minimal impact on the environment
- Noise impact modelling according to current international standards
- Energy, wind speed, noise and ground slope maps
- Separate and cumulative analysis of multiple wind farms
The results of your analysis are exported to Microsoft WordTM, Microsoft ExcelTM and plain text formats for maximum convenience.
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Visualisation Module
The Visualisation Module enables you to model and demonstrate the visual impact of your wind farm before it is built. It includes analysis of zones of visual influence, a virtual representation, fly through, photomontages and consideration of radar stations.
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The module provides you with a number of different methods:
- ZVI, for a single wind farm or the cumulative effect of several wind farms. Options include visibility of tips, hubs, vertical subtended angle, horizontal subtended angle, total visibility of wind farm.
- Radar ZVI, helps the user to plan a wind farm in order to avoid radar interference. Maps possible areas of conflict and visualises the effect of the wind farm.
- Virtual representation of the wind farm from a viewpoint using solid and transparent wire-frames allows the user to see turbines even behind a hill.
- Rendered landscape, lighting and fog, curvature of the earth and panoramic view for a realistic wind farm simulation. The turbines can be superimposed on aerial or satellite photos draped over the terrain.
- Animated or still photomontages of high quality
- Animated virtual fly through of your wind farm
- Export of wind farm to Google Earth
The Visualisation Module also enables visual constraints to be imposed on the site allowing users to monitor and control the visual aspect of a wind farm throughout the layout design and automatic optimisation process.
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MCP+ Module
The MCP+ Module provides all the tools for the evaluation of your measured wind data. Time-series of measured data can be imported cleaned, plotted, documented and then correlated to long term wind resource data.
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To enable the user to process the measured raw data MCP+ will:
- Load time series anemometry measurements from a range of data file formats
- Recalibrate the data
- Inspect and clean the data with an interactive plotter
- Print and export plots of time series data; export data listings and reports
- Create WAsP TAB format frequency distributions
- Present wind rose plots from time series or frequency distribution data
- Perform Measure Correlate Predict (MCP) analysis where concurrent reference station and site measurements are available
- Predict long term site data from the results of the MCP analysis. Output as frequency distribution or wind rose
The resulting long term distributions are documented and output in WAsP compatible ASCII file format.
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Turbulence Intensity Module
The Turbulence Intensity Module provides the sophisticated user with an advanced level of modelling of the wind flow, turbine performance and turbine loading within a wind farm.
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The ambient turbulence can be modelled as a function of wind speed, wind direction or both wind speed and direction (see also MCP+ Module in this regard).
Below are some of the channels that can be output in the Turbulence Intensity Module for each turbine for every wind speed and direction:
- Wind turbine power
- Incident wind speed relative to measured wind speed
- Ambient wind speed and turbulence
- Estimate of load equivalent design turbulence levels
- Wake affected wind speed and turbulence
The detailed data from this module enables the user to compare the expected wind farm output for each wind speed and direction with the prediction, such as for a wind farm performance warranty. Also provided is a direct link to load calculations with our GH Bladed software.
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Financial Module
The Financial Module is designed to allow the user to integrate full financial appraisals of wind energy projects with the design phase of the project. The users can import their own financial model or use the financial model included in the package.
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Any existing spreadsheet containing a wind farm costing or financial model can be loaded and dynamically linked to elements within the Base Module.
These dynamic elements are:
- Number of turbines
- Energy yield
- Cable length
- Number of transformers
- Road length
Any changes made to the wind farm layout are automatically updated in the financial window. The financial function can then be used as the target during layout optimisation. The module includes ready-to-use costing and financial model example spreadsheets.
With the GH WindFarmer Finance Module, it is possible to quickly determine the impact on the economic viability of a wind energy project for a range of factors.
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Electrical Module
This module enables the user to design the electrical layout of a wind farm.
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Specifically it will:
- Check for overloading of transformers, cables and lines
- Calculate the size of capacitor/reactor banks needed to correct the power factor at a particular point, referred to as power factor correction devices, or PFCDs
- Calculate lengths of underground cables and overhead lines, taking topography and gradients into account
- Calculate electrical losses for cables, lines and transformers.
- Calculate annual reactive power production and consumption for turbines, cables, transformers, lines, PFCDs and their annual value.
The Electrical Module has a user friendly, intuitive interface, and the properties of the different components are stored in a Library file, which can be updated and consulted as required.
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Shadow Flicker Module
This module calculates the occurrence of shadow flicker at a receptor or in the form of a map for a given layout and topography. The turbines causing shadow flicker and time intervals of occurrence can be identified.
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The module allows you to:
- Determine the accurate shadow flicker effect for a particular year
- Represent the turbine rotor as a sphere or as a disk
- Consider the offset and orientation between turbine rotor and tower
- Model the sun as a point or a disc
- Use the topography as alternative to the simplified flat terrain assumption
- Create maps of shadow flicker occurrence on an annual or daily basis
- Analyse the shadow flicker at specific receptor points, of given elevation and orientation
- Identify the shadow flicker periods from each turbine onto each receptor
The algorithm used in the Shadow Flicker Module operates with high precision, delivering the output required so that a SCADA control system, such as GH SCADA, can be set, if required, to stop the turbines for a few minutes a day before shadow flicker can become a nuisance.
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