New study uses blizzard to measure wind turbine airflow

University of Minnesota researchers are first to use natural snow to visualize airflow of large-scale wind turbine. A first-of-its-kind study by researchers at the University of Minnesota (UMN) using snow during a Minnesota blizzard is giving researchers new insight into the airflow around large wind turbines. This research is essential to improving wind energy efficiency, especially in wind farms where airflows from many large wind turbines interact with each other. The study by researchers at the UMN College of Science and Engineering's St. Anthony Falls Lab was published today , a major scientific journal. Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates energy losses in wind farms to be as high as 10-20 percent and identifies complex airflows created by the turbines as the major culprit for such losses. As wind turbines have grown to more than 100 meters tall, field research in real-world settings has become more difficult.