How is a wind speed power curve used to estimate a wind turbine’s electricity production?

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Rows of white wind turbines with spinning blades stand on a dry, grassy landscape at a wind farm near Tehachapi, California. — turbine Wind turbines near Tehachapi, California.

A wind speed power curve is a graph that illustrates the relationship between the power generated (in kilowatts) and the wind speed (in metres per second) for a specific wind turbine. Because each turbine design features unique variables—such as blade shape, the number of blades, rotor swept area, and rotation speed—the power curve is specific to each model.1

To estimate the electricity production at a particular location, the turbine’s power curve is coupled with the site's wind speed frequency distribution. This distribution is a histogram that details the expected number of hours per year that specific wind speed classes will occur. By aligning the power output values from the curve with the frequency of those wind speeds at the site, engineers can calculate the expected annual energy production.1

While this curve provides a baseline, actual production estimates must also account for factors that may decrease output, such as transmission energy losses and the turbine's operational availability.1