Analysis of Atmospheric Planetary Boundary Layer - Terrain Interactions. Wind Industry Implications

Abstract

The development of wind energy has a direct effect on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector. This industry is one of the largest anthropogenic contributors to the global problem of climate change. Numerical modeling is a tool that forms part of the present and future of this sector; because it is able to reproduce the effect of wind farms on the atmosphere and to obtain its short-term production prediction. The present thesis aims to achieve a detailed quantification and understanding of the main interactions between atmospheric planet boundary layer and terrain, focusing on the behavior of wind flows at different scales.