CFD SIMULATION AND VISUALIZATION BASED INVESTIGATION OF SMALL WIND TURBINE POTENTIAL: A CASE STUDY “NEUER STÖCKACH” FOR STUTTGART

Abstract

In the face of climate change and the energy transition that the German federal government is aiming for, all renewable energy potentials need to be tapped. Unfortunately, small wind turbines play a niche role in Germany and most other countries despite the fact, that although they offer advantages as e.g. almost seasonal independent energy production in close proximity to the consumer on the same low-voltage grid level. One reason beside the lower wind speeds that can be expected closer to the ground is, that in comparison to PV (photovoltaic), for which good yield forecasts can be made using global radiation measurements from nearby weather stations or online databases, the yield of small wind turbines, especially in urban areas, can only be forecasted using on-site measurements due to the influence of the surrounding buildings and topography. This method is time-consuming and costly. To address this, within this work a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation based visualization framework for the investigation of the small wind turbine potential is presented. In this specific case the energy supply company EnBW is planning to refurbish the “Neuer Stöckach” urban quarter on the former “Stöckach” company site. As part of the redevelopment, a comprehensive energy concept is planned to integrate renewable energies. In this context the integration of small wind turbines into the energy concept is examined according to this new methodology.