System and method for controlling a wind turbine

A method for controlling a plurality of wind turbines of a wind farm, the plurality of wind turbines comprising a designated turbine having a nacelle mounted atop a tower, the method comprising:

• determining, via a controller, a thermal gradient of the tower of the designated turbine due to solar heating for a given sun position;
• determining, via the controller, a displacement of a reference point of the designated turbine from a nominal position resulting from a thermal expansion of a portion of the tower, the displacement comprising a displacement magnitude and a displacement direction, the displacement direction being in a radial direction opposite a location of a maximal peak of the thermal gradient on the tower;
• determining, via the controller, a correction factor corresponding to the displacement, wherein the correction factor is configured to mitigate an impact of the displacement resulting from the thermal expansion of the portion of the tower;
• implementing, via the controller, the correction factor at each additional wind turbine of the plurality of wind turbines;
• determining, via the controller, a setpoint for a component of each wind turbine of the plurality of wind turbines based, at least in part, on the correction factor;
• and
• establishing an operating state of each wind turbine of the plurality of wind turbines based, at least in part, on the setpoint.

A system for controlling a wind turbine, the system comprising:

• a tower comprising a plurality of vertically arranged tower segments;
• a nacelle mounted atop the tower;
• and
• a controller, the controller comprising at least one processor configured to perform a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations comprising:
• determining a thermal gradient of the tower due to solar heating for a given sun position,
• determining a displacement of a reference point of the wind turbine from a nominal position resulting from a thermal expansion of a portion of the tower, the displacement comprising a displacement magnitude and a displacement direction, the displacement direction being in a radial direction opposite a location of a maximal peak of the thermal gradient on the tower,
• determining a correction factor corresponding to the displacement, wherein the correction factor is configured to mitigate an impact of the displacement resulting from the thermal expansion of the portion of the tower,
• generating a setpoint for a component of the wind turbine based, at least in part, on the correction factor, and
• establishing an operating state of the wind turbine based, at least in part, on the setpoint.