System and method for determining wind farm wake loss

A method for controlling a wind farm, the wind farm having a plurality of wind turbines, the method comprising:

• operating the wind farm in a first operational mode via a controller;
• classifying each of the wind turbines in the wind farm as a function of wind direction and site layout;
• collecting, via the controller, turbine-level data from at least one upstream reference wind turbine in the wind farm without wake losses having at least one downstream wind turbine during the first operational mode;
• determining a time-averaged reference power output for the at least one upstream reference wind turbine for a particular wind direction or wind speed range;
• replacing power of the at least one downstream wind turbine with the time-averaged reference power output;
• estimating, via the controller, a freestream farm-level power output for the wind farm during first operational mode by summing the time-averaged reference power output for the at least one upstream reference wind turbine and the replaced power of the at least one downstream wind turbine;
• measuring an actual farm-level power output for the wind farm for the first operational mode;
• determining, via the controller, wake losses of the wind farm for the first operational mode as a function of the measured actual farm-level power output for the first operational mode and the estimated freestream farm-level power output during the first operational mode;
• operating the wind farm in a second operational mode via the controller, the second operational mode being characterized by one or more of the wind turbines being provided with an upgrade;
• collecting, via the controller, turbine-level data from at least one upstream wind turbine in the wind farm during the second operational mode;
• estimating, via the controller, a freestream farm-level power output for the wind farm during the second operational mode based, at least in part, on the turbine-level data collected during the second operational mode;
• measuring an actual farm-level power output for the second operational mode;
• determining, via the controller, wake losses of the wind farm for the second operational mode as a function of the measured actual farm-level power output for the second operational mode and the estimated freestream farm-level power output during the second operational mode;
• toggling between the first and second operational modes;
• selecting to operate the wind farm in the first operational mode or the second operational mode based the determined wake losses of the wind farm for the first and second operational modes;
• and
• operating the wind farm in the selected operational mode so as to minimize future wake losses, wherein operating the wind farm in the selected operational mode comprises at least one of controlling a pitch angle, a yaw angle, a generator speed, or a power set point.