Upwind vs. downwind: loads and acoustics  of a 1.5&thinsp;MW wind turbine

Bortolotti, Pietro; Fingersh, Lee Jay; Hamilton, Nicholas; Huskey, Arlinda; Ivanov, Chris; Iverson, Mark; Keller, Jonathan; Lambert, Scott; Roadman, Jason; Slaughter, Derek; Thao, Syhoune; Wells, Consuelo

doi:10.5194/wes-10-2025-2025

Articles | Volume 10, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-2025-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-2025-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 10, issue 9

Research article

|

15 Sep 2025

Research article |

| 15 Sep 2025

Upwind vs. downwind: loads and acoustics of a 1.5 MW wind turbine

Pietro Bortolotti, Lee Jay Fingersh, Nicholas Hamilton, Arlinda Huskey, Chris Ivanov, Mark Iverson, Jonathan Keller, Scott Lambert, Jason Roadman, Derek Slaughter, Syhoune Thao, and Consuelo Wells

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Mar 2025	90	15	3	108
Apr 2025	44	21	5	70
May 2025	48	12	4	64
Jun 2025	44	15	9	68
Jul 2025	29	16	2	47
Aug 2025	83	25	0	108
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Oct 2025	154	39	10	203
Nov 2025	115	66	10	191
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Feb 2026	106	173	15	294
Mar 2026	114	223	11	348
Apr 2026	100	168	13	281
May 2026	1	4	0	5

Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 06 Mar 2025)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Mar 2025	90	15	3	108
Apr 2025	44	21	5	70
May 2025	48	12	4	64
Jun 2025	44	15	9	68
Jul 2025	29	16	2	47
Aug 2025	83	25	0	108
Sep 2025	362	23	11	396
Oct 2025	154	39	10	203
Nov 2025	115	66	10	191
Dec 2025	233	147	7	387
Jan 2026	174	170	16	360
Feb 2026	106	173	15	294
Mar 2026	114	223	11	348
Apr 2026	100	168	13	281
May 2026	1	4	0	5

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Short summary

This study compares a wind turbine with blades behind the tower (downwind) to the traditional upwind design. Testing a 1.5 MW turbine at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Flatirons Campus, we measured performance, loads, and noise. Numerical models matched well with observations. The downwind setup showed higher fatigue loads and sound variations but also an unexpected power improvement. Downwind rotors might be a valid alternative for future floating offshore wind applications.