the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 13 Feb 2025
Three-year database of atmospheric measurements combined with associated operating parameters from a wind farm of 2MW turbines and rotor geometry
Abstract. A comprehensive meteorological dataset from an operational wind farm, consisting of six 2 MW turbines, has been made available. A meteorological mast, equipped with sonic anemometers at four different heights, was installed at the center of the farm and has collected data over three years. The dataset is further supplemented with radiometer measurements for atmospheric stability analysis. Simultaneously, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data were acquired to provide operational information about the wind turbines, including inter alia power production and wind direction. Additionally, the turbine blades were scanned to support aerodynamic simulations. This unique and comprehensive database has been made accessible to the research community through the AERIS platform.
Competing interests: Sandrine Aubrun is Associate Editor of WES
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.- Preprint
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Status: final response (author comments only)
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RC1: 'Comment on wes-2025-12', Anonymous Referee #1, 07 Mar 2025
The authors present a unique and extensive dataset for a small wind farm in France, covering several years of operation. The datasets adhere to FAIR principles, with DOI repository links and machine-readable metadata. The data-collection methodologies are well-documented, and the presentation quality is high, featuring a clear structure, well-labeled figures and tables, and well-written text.
Some information, such as SCADA data for two of the six turbines and details on SCADA wind speed corrections, is missing (most likely due to commercial considerations from the data provider). Additionally, specific datasets would benefit from more detailed descriptions in the paper and the accompanying READMEs, especially as numerous file formats (and standards?) are used. Nevertheless, this paper and datasets are highly valuable to wind energy science and should have many applications. I recommend acceptance after minor revisions.
Suggested Revisions:
- Dataset Format and Organization: Add more information about the data formats used. Consider including a summary paragraph on dataset organization (e.g., "Dataset XX is stored in NetCDF format with standardized metadata following XYZ guidelines.").
- Please state why some data is unavailable, e.g., SCADA from the two remaining turbines. Was it a requirement from the data provider or something else?
- Terminology Consistency: Table 2 lists "nacelle height" as 80 m, while the text states "hub height" is 80 m. Please clarify this and ensure consistent terminology.
- AERIS Platform: Provide additional information on the AERIS platform. For example, does it guarantee continuous access for many years into the future?
- Figure and Table Improvements:
- Figure 5 appears grainy; please improve the image quality.
- Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 16: Add subplot labels (a), (b), (c), etc., unless they are considered single plots.
- Table 3: Add more detailed descriptions of columns and rows. Consider explaining terms such as "NACA 63(3)418," "Max. Camber [%]," and "at x/c [%]," and perhaps include an illustration of camber and thickness (add to one of the previous figures if possible).
- Acronyms and Notation: Define CSTB, LHEEA, ISIS-CFD, NACA 63(3)418, and URANS, and provide references where possible.
- Clarifications and Formatting:
- Line 76: Add a space between the number and unit ("79 m").
- Line 236: Consider moving the last line up to align with the preceding paragraph.
- Explain if "hNN" refers to height above "normal null," as this may not be self-evident in the wind energy community.
- Introduce and clarify the notation "Rec."
Data File Review:
Meteorological Mast Dataset(s):
- data_availability folder: Format: .csv files. Missing README. Files open correctly using Pandas.
- meteo folder: Format: .cvl file (tab-separated ASCII). It is fair README, but it could describe more about the data formatting and standards (if any). Files open correctly using Pandas.
- Turbulence folder: Format: .csv files (one per height). Good README. Files open correctly using Pandas.
Radiometer Dataset(s):
- General Issues:
- "readme_v1.rtf" contains a netCDF header dump but lacks a general description of folders, files, and formats.
- The "IWV" and "MET" folders are empty and undocumented.
- The "Preliminary_Version" folder contains HPC, CMP, and IWV netCDF files, but their purpose is unclear.
- File-specific Notes:
- "lire_cmp_tpc.py": Python script to parse files. Could include more details about the purpose and docstrings for the functions.
- "CMP_TPC_report.csv": List of days with missing or present netCDF files (CMP_TPC).
- "CMP.TPC" folder: Daily netCDF files (opens fine using xarray, but missing README apart from readme_v1.rtf).
- "HPC" folder: Daily netCDF files (opens fine using xarray, but missing README apart from readme_v1.rtf).
SCADA Dataset(s):
- DATA folder:
- Format: Excel file
- Good README
- Files open correctly using Pandas (and Excel).
Blade Geometry Dataset(s):
- Text files named RNNm.txt with NN being numbered from 00 to 44. Each file contains three columns. I assume "x," "y," and "z," but there are no headers, so I have to guess.
- The README contains useful information but lacks basic stuff, like file formats/standards description and information about who the "Authors" (people/institution(s)) of the dataset are.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-12-RC1 -
RC2: 'Comment on wes-2025-12', Anonymous Referee #2, 10 Mar 2025
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://wes.copernicus.org/preprints/wes-2025-12/wes-2025-12-RC2-supplement.pdf
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RC3: 'Comment on wes-2025-12', Anonymous Referee #3, 01 Apr 2025
This data paper presents a dataset obtained at a 6-turbine wind farm in France. Overall, I found the paper to be clear and the description of provided data to be useful and insightful. I am more familiar with SCADA and met tower data than with remote atmospheric measurements (radiometer) or blade profiles, so I will focus my feedback on the SCADA and met tower data.
Data availability:- I was not able to access the met mast data, unfortunately---there does not seem to be data under the Download tab? Perhaps I am not accessing it correctly.
- The SCADA data is stored as an .xlsx file. While this works, I would highly recommend providing the data as a CSV file instead. The comma-separated values format is human readable, can be opened in a wider variety of applications, and is generally smaller in terms of storage size. Moreover, xlsx binary files may contain macros that can be exploited to provide unauthorized access, which means that opening downloaded xlsx files can pose a security risk. CSV files don't have this issue, which should make the data more readily available.
- As noted in the paper, only 4 of the 6 turbines' SCADA data is provided. However, the reason for this is not given. Why are the other two turbines' records not provided? This should be stated clearly in the paper to avoid confusion.
- Do the authors have access to the power and thrust curves (as a function of wind speed) of the Senvion MM92 turbines that they can share (alternatively, power coefficient and thrust coefficient as a function of wind speed)? Several lower-fidelity wake models require these power/thrust curves to model the wind turbines, so it would make the dataset more useful if they can be provided.
Other comments:
- Can the authors provide specifications for the sensing hardware on the met tower? This would be helpful for users to understand the operational ranges, signal to noise ratios, etc of the anemometers and vanes. The authors provide the manufacturer of each in parenthesis, but these are not linked references, so it's not totally clear what the equipment is. Another alternative would be to provide a footnote with a link to the spec sheet for each sensor, similar to the way that the EddyPro software is linked.
- I understand that Fig. 4 shows the wind roses at various heights on the met mast, covering a period from Dec. 2021 to Jan. 2024. I recommend limiting the period to Dec. 2021--Dec. 2023 or Jan. 2022--Jan. 2024 (exclusive), so that an integer number of years is included and winter months are not double-counted in the presented wind roses.
- Can the resolution in Figs. 4 and 5 be improved?
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-12-RC3
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