Enhanced wind-farm performance using windbreaks

Using large eddy simulations, we demonstrate that windbreaks can enhance the power production of large wind farms. The optimal windbreak height in a wind farm depends on the balance between the flow speedup and drag effects associated with windbreaks. This result is surprising since it has been argued that the added drag would cancel any benefits resulting from the flow speedup. We find the ideal windbreak height in a wind farm is lower than for an individual turbine. This limits the added drag from the windbreaks and enables their effective use in wind farms.