Tutorial 2a: Creating and placing turbines

Transcript

In this series of tutorials, we will explain how you can place wind farms, solar parks, high voltage transmission lines and other 3D objects like large scale battery storage, fences and transformers, but also trees, bushes, animals and buildings.

First, let's take a look at how to create a new turbine model.

Click on 3D model. Next, click on new 3D model. Here you can choose between using a custom configuration or a standard configuration. Custom configurations gives you the freedom to set your own parameters for the turbines height and rotor diameter, where standard configurations are preset standards, which gives you less control, but use realistic values set by the manufacturer.

For now, I'll use a custom configuration. EnergyPlanner let you choose from a range of industry standard turbines. For this example, I'll select the Vestas V 90. We leave the other settings on their default for now and scroll down to save the model. The new model will now appear in our list of available or previously created models, and we can use it to place in in our 3D world.

Make sure that when you're placing the turbine, the new 3D model is selected in the drop down.

Click on the turbine. Click on settings in the context menu and then select the tool icon to further edit the new 3D model. Here we can give the model a name. Change the hub height. Blade diameter. Specify a rated capacity and under light settings, enable turbine lights, turbine mast lights and enable or disable the light sensor. Add double lights and edit light color and opacity.

Next in this tab we have Dynamic Layer settings, which we'll discuss in a moment. To add to that, we can add 3D model markings and tailor them to our preferences. Lastly, in this tab we can sync phase, ensuring that all turbines in our project are rotating synchronously.

Show mast only and add an offshore base. Of course, all of the changes we make will update in real time in Street View as well.

So what you might notice upon using EnergyPlanner is that by default, there are certain radiuses displayed around the turbines on the 2D map. Let me show you how they can be of use. Go to Layers and Dynamic Layers and you will be able to enable or disable the Radiuses. The dynamic layers can help you decide where to place a turbine.

Let's take the ice throw distance. For example.

Thanks to the overlay, we can now see that the turbines have been placed too close to residential areas. Moving the turbines will lead to a change in the visual impact of my project in 3D, as well as in Street View.

Please note the turbulence radius. Here you can turn the layer on or off. But the settings are turbine specific. If you go to your turbine settings, you'll find the dynamic layer settings where you can alter the crosswind and downwind separation. As you can see, changing these values will also change the turbulence radius on the map.

Note that the crosswind and downwind separation values are a multiplier of the rotor diameter. Thus, changing the rotor diameter will also change the crosswind and downwind separation.

Now, if you want to look at the turbines with a clear view, go to View Settings World Settings and uncheck Turbine markers for the 3D world.

Now let's explore the different methods of placing turbines

Click on Edit Turbines and Place Tools to freely place turbines.

When you're done with placing, click the cross icon to move a turbine. Click on one or multiple of them and select move through the context menu.

To delete a turbine, you can again select one or multiple of them by clicking on them and selecting the bin icon in the context menu.

Another way to place turbines in EnergyPlanner is by using the line tool.

Select it and fill in your desired amount of turbines. Specify the location of the first turbine.

And then the last turbine to complete the line.

To take it one step further. Select the grid tool. It works just like the line tool, yet with an added dimension. As you can see,

In case you have an WindSim exported file, or .OWS, a shapefile, or .SHP, or a comma separate format file, or .CSV,

go to turbines and then new turbines. Select import from file and then click to choose file and select a compatible extension from your computer.

Please make sure to choose the coordinate system responding to your file, and that this may differ from your project settings.

You can preview the turbines if you want to do a final check, and then you can click save as Turbines.

To place turbines by coordinates. Click on turbines. New turbines and create at coordinates. Fill in your desired coordinate or multiple of them.

Again, you can choose to preview the turbines, and if it's the composition you were looking for, you can hit save as turbines.

That's all for this lesson. We hope you now better understand the different tools with which you can place turbines in EnergyPlanner.