Techniques for improving wind to power conversion

In forecasting wind farm power output, it is important to obtain an accurate farm power output estimate based on given forecast winds. Generally, the manufacturer's turbine power curves are applied to obtain this estimate. In this paper we will discuss the errors that result from using the manufacturer's power curves at actual wind farms. We will discuss alternative approaches that statistically model the power output based on incorporating air density data with actual wind and power observations at wind farms. We will show how these alternative approaches can reduce the overall conversion error and can thus be superior to using the manufacturer's power curves.