NSW Wind Energy Handbook, 2002

Sustainable Energy Development Authority of NSW (SEDA)
Copyright Sustainable Energy Development Authority, NSW 2001

A handbook produced by the New South Wales Sustainable Energy Development Authority, with the assistance of various environmental groups, wind energy developers, and financial assistance from Pacific Power International and CVC Reef.

Page 53 refers to wind farm layout and the spacing between turbines:

“A wind-farm layout must take into account that turbines have substantial ‘wakes’, which interfere with each other depending on wind direction and spacing. The general rule of thumb for spacing (the ‘5r-8r rule’) is five times rotor diameter abreast and eight times rotor diameter downwind. On very directional sites the ‘abreast spacing’ can be decreased by around 15 per cent, but the down-wind spacing is not as variable. Layout geometry can be primarily driven by the need to follow narrow ridgelines or to align arrays across the prevailing wind. On more complex terrain, individual sites need to be carefully evaluated to make best use of the wind resource, so the spacing may be quite variable.”

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