Performance improvement in an Indian wind farm by implementing design modifications in yaw and hub hydraulic systems-A case study

In India, wind power has emerged as the leading green energy technology with an average growth rate of 30%. Wind power has been concentrated in few regions especially the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which maintains its position as the state with the largest wind power installation. Due to the rapid growth of wind farms, the technical availability and the performance issues are to be studied in detail in specific locations where the wind is turbulent in nature. As most of the European wind turbine designs are facing critical problems in Indian atmosphere, detailed study in the individual wind farms is required to increase their performance. Hence rather than the technical advancements of wind turbine generator (WTG), certain measures to enhance the power production in the existing wind farms are essential. This paper deals with two critical issues and suitable remedial measures in an existing wind farm. The proposed designs are implemented and tested in the wind farm. The performance analysis is made for two years duration before and after installation. It is observed that the effectiveness of the yaw system and hub hydraulics was enhanced.