Last year, RWE, together with various project partners, completed two wake-effect studies and embarked on a new research project in the same field. Two of the initiatives have been funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

In planning new wind farms, developers calculate various factors affecting their performance. One important factor is the wake effect, where the wind slows down and swirls once it encounters a turbine, reducing the yield of the wind turbines positioned behind. To make sure offshore wind farms produce as much power as possible, this effect needs to be taken into account during the planning of a project.