Wind Turbine Productivity and Wind Energy Assessment: An Ontario Case Study

This paper discusses wind energy assessment for the largest wind farm in Ontario to-date, Henvey Inlet wind farm (HIWF), which began in 2017 and reached commercial operation in October 2019. The study includes analysis of wind turbine conversion system, wind velocity using measurement towers, wind turbine and wind farm power and energy prosecution. Characteristics of Vestas V136-3.45 that are used in the HIWF are extracted and implemented in the analysis to achieve real-world results. Two analyses approaches are considered, (i) a definite method based on mathematical modelling of wind velocity, power, and energy, and (ii) a statistic analysis based on Rayleigh probability function. Comparison of the results from the definite and probability approach presents a difference of up to 50%. Therefore, although a probability approach may be used for initial analyses of wind energy when choosing a candidate wind farm, the energy output from a wind farm needs to be calculated based on measured and manufacturers data using a definite approach.