On the Accuracy of Predicting Wind-Farm Blockage

To assess the uncertainty in blockage quantification, this study proposes a comparison of farm blockage predictions from wind-tunnel experiments, Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes based simulations using multiple numerical setups, and analytical models. The influence of the numerical setup is demonstrated to be small if a consistent definition of blockage (able to sort out systematic errors) is used. The effect of domain confinement and turbulence intensity is investigated assessing their range of variability. Different analytical models performed similarly in comparison to the numerical data, demonstrating the best accuracy for realistic spacing between the turbines and supporting their use as reliable engineering tools.