Optimization of Renewable Energy Siting Decisions through Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Integration

Abstract

The rapid increase in wind energy deployment is critical to achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the United States. However, conventional Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) face deployment constraints due to their large spatial requirements stemming from their size itself and turbine spacing to accommodate wake interference. Their large footprint makes it impractical to deploy in densely populated and restricted areas, such as military zones and urban regions. This setback results in the underutilization of available wind resources, limiting wind energy’s full potential. To overcome these constraints, Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) offer a spatially compact alternative, enabling deployment in space-constrained areas. This study investigates the feasibility of VAWTs as a complementary wind technology by integrating them into a renewable energy siting optimization framework. This framework considers HAWTs, Solar Photovoltaics (PV), battery storage, etc., within the New England region, assuming a 100% decarbonized power system. The model utilizes an analysis that aims to minimize total system costs to assess VAWTs under varying capital expenditures and land-use restrictions. A novel feature of this study is the usage of the land availability cutoff and land restriction cases that are introduced to realistically mimic real-world land use constraints that influence wind turbine siting. The land availability cutoff defines the minimum area of land usable within the parcel for it to be considered for HAWTs and Solar PV deployment, given their larger spatial footprint. Parcels below this land cutoff are excluded from those technologies and only consider VAWTs due to the lower land available within the parcel, representing constrained regions. This methodology offers a more technical modeling of spatial constraints for renewable energy siting and allows for a realistic assessment of VAWT feasibility. Results indicate that, at current commercial costs, VAWTs are less competitive withm HAWTs and solar PV, primarily due to their early stage in the technology development and their significantly higher CAPEX, which is approximately ten times that of HAWTs. To test the technology’s viability with hypothetical utility-scale costs, where VAWT costs fall within the range of $1,300–$1,500/kW, the model still preferentially selects HAWTs due to their higher capacity factors. However, when the model considers different land use restriction cases for VAWT technology, as compared to HAWTs and Solar PVs, VAWTs become significantly more viable. VAWT placement becomes notable in these cases, increasing its share in the energy mix by 2.61% to 10.32% in favorable conditions. At high levels of land availability on a per-parcel scale, specifically, when more than 70% of the land identified as technically suitable remains available for any deployment, high-quality sites with favorable wind resources and high capacity factors continue to support HAWTs as the dominant technology given their lower Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). However, when the land availability cutoff increases beyond 70%, reducing siting opportunities for HAWTs and solar PV, the reliance is shifted towards VAWTs, amplifying the impact of their higher LCOE on overall system costs and making cost differentials between technologies more critical. These findings emphasize that while CAPEX reductions are critical in scaling VAWTs and driving up their competitiveness, land-use policies and spatial constraints are primary determinants of deployment feasibility. The study highlights the need for targeted policy intervention for flexible siting policies and continued research to optimize VAWT deployment strategies, ultimately enhancing wind energy integration in land constrained regions within New England and maximizing wind resource potential.