Scaled Wind Farm Technology Facility (SWiFT) Commissioning

New Research Facility will Address Wind Farm Underperformance

A new wind research facility at Texas Tech University was commissioned today (July 9). Officials from Texas Tech, Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories, Vestas and Group NIRE were present at the new Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) facility to mark the occasion.

SWiFT is a unique facility that gives the U.S. an opportunity to address wind farm underperformance, much of which can be attributed to turbine-to-turbine interaction.

"Some estimates show that 10 to 40 percent of wind energy production and revenue is lost due to complex wind plant interaction," said Jon White, Sandia's technical lead for the project.

White said the SWiFT facility allows for rapid, cost-efficient testing and development of transformative wind energy technology, with specific emphasis on improving wind plant performance. The facility's advanced testing and monitoring will help researchers evaluate how larger wind farms can become more productive.

The site includes two V27 research turbines deployed by the Department of Energy and Sandia, and a third V27 turbine belonging to Vestas, a leading wind turbine manufacturer.