News Physics

Windbreaks, surprisingly, could help wind farms boost power output

Low walls in front of turbines could improve performance by 10 percent, simulations show

a row of windmills in Taiwan

Windbreaks could help wind farms pump out more power. Low walls in front of turbines, like these in Taiwan, could speed up gusts at the height of the turbine, computer simulations suggest.

CHENG FENG CHIANG/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Emily Conover

- More than 2 years ago

Windbreaks may sound like a counterintuitive idea for boosting the performance of a wind turbine.