Availability evaluation of wind farms considering the influence of vertical wind shear

The probability distribution of wind speed and availability of wind farms are investigated considering the vertical wind shear. Wind speed at extended height (60 m) was generated from that of reference height (10 m) through the Power-law Process. The least square (LS) method, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method and modified method are used to estimate the parameters of Weibull distribution. Then the goodness-of-fit and wind energy characteristic indices are deduced. It shows that MLE and modified MLE method are superior to LS method in parameter-estimating, and wind speed distribution at different height changes with wind shear. The rationality and effectiveness of the modified method are verified from the case study.