Evaluating the impact of wind turbine shadows on an integrated wind and solar farm

This paper analyzes the possibility of having an integrated wind and solar farm to optimize the use of land resources and capital investment by evaluating the effect that turbine shadows have on the area surrounding the turbine. Two methods are used to predict shadow impact. The first method is based on traditional textbook “Clear Sky” equations, which have maximum sensitivity to shadows because every day is a perfect day. The second method uses measured global-horizontal and diffuse-horizontal solar radiation in units of W/m², which take into account the true variety of daily conditions. The calculations are performed for 1 square meter surfaces, over the 1 square kilometer area, for every second of the day. For purposes of shadow calculations, the tip-top height (i.e., tower height plus blade length) is used.