A location problem in the field of wind energy

Abstract

In the last years, the concerns with the planet sustainability have increased substantially with the changes faced in society. The strong dependence of the modern society on fossil fuels is clear, and it has justified the governmental efforts to reduce the emissions of gases. In this context, the renewable energies, and especially the wind energy, have been a good alternative since they are typically both inexhaustible and clean. This paper presents new results concerning a problem that arises in the planning of wind farms, namely the location of meteorological masts. The meteorological masts are installed for the measurement of the wind conditions. They are used to perform a specific set of tests. The optimal location of these masts allows the maximization of the dominant wind exposure and the minimization of the number of disturbed sectors. The SADLEMPE decision support system has been developed recently to address this problem. Here, we present new results provided by this application for a real case study.