Simulating the Wind Energy Lifecycle: From Site Selection to Sustainable Operation

Global energy demands are experiencing a notable surge driven primarily by rising electricity consumption, particularly in emerging economies like India, China, and others. According to the projection made by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global energy demand will double by 2050.

Renewable energy has received unprecedented interest due to increasing concerns about carbon emissions from fossil fuels. Wind energy, one of the prime renewable energy sectors, is a strategic lever for economic and environmental resilience and is poised for continued growth, driven by government initiatives, increasing investment, and the need for sustainable energy sources.

Technology and innovation are key enablers to unlocking the full potential of wind power, as rapid scaling will be essential to meet future energy demands. Simulation plays a critical role in uncovering the potential of wind energy across its entire lifecycle, from site selection, layout optimisation, blade design, gearbox design, tower design, to grid connection and operational sustainability. It has been demonstrated that simulations have increased the power output of new turbine generators by 2x, saved 80 percent of material and transportation costs using modular designs, and increased in-service productivity by 5 percent.

India’s Renewable Energy Scenario and Wind Energy Focus

India’s renewable energy journey is at a key crossroads, marked by the convergence of innovation, ambition, and sustainability. India is one of the fastest-growing economies, and bold steps are being taken to decarbonise its power sector, mainly because of the country’s increasing energy demands. Wind power is a proven and scalable option among renewable energy sources, as it has a demonstrated record of success and vast untapped potential.

As of 31 March 2025, India's total installed wind power capacity was 50.00 gigawatts (GW). India has the fourth-largest installed wind power capacity in the world. The southern and western states have led the charge, particularly Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. Still, new opportunities in offshore wind, hybrid solar-wind installations, and wind repowering are now emerging as the next frontiers.

India is targeting a non-fossil fuel energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030. Wind energy will power homes and industries and play a key role in reducing emissions, boosting grid resilience, and supporting economic growth in rural/coastal regions.

However, notwithstanding the optimism, growth is bound to how effectively we can address the core technical and economic challenges associated with wind energy.

The Future Outlook of Wind Energy

In 2023, the Global Wind Energy Market size was valued at USD 87.66 billion, and it was poised to grow from USD 95.55 billion in 2024 to USD 190.39 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 9.0 percent during 2025-2032. Much of the new capacity is expected to come from developing nations. Floating wind farms, hybrid renewable plants, and integrated storage solutions are reshaping the industry.

India has a 7,500+ km long coastline, with immense promise for offshore wind farms. With hybrid and repowering strategies, they can considerably advance capacity utilisation factors (CUF), stabilise the grid, and offer scalable solutions to meet the rising electricity demands.

However, as turbines grow and farms extend offshore, design, testing, and certification complexity also increase.

So, we are now looking at 100-meter-long blades, massive nacelles housing MW-scale generators, and increasingly complex environmental load scenarios. These scenarios vary from atmospheric turbulence and icing to marine corrosion and seismic activities. Realising this future requires overcoming persistent technical and economic challenges. Designing, validating, and optimising these systems becomes complex. Without real-world simulation, it is not just cost-prohibitive but nearly impossible to execute. So, simulation technology is central to this transformation.

Challenges of Wind Energy

There are many challenges to overcome when it comes to wind energy. Designing wind energy systems is characteristically complex. It is multifaceted, from turbines having to perform reliably across diverse atmospheric and terrain conditions, withstanding extreme weather, dynamic wind loads, material fatigue, manufacturing inconsistencies, and more. Additionally, as turbine sizes surge (crossing 100+ meter blade lengths and 15+ MW ratings), there is a tiny margin for error.

Key challenges in wind turbine engineering include:

Material and Manufacturing Variability: Since the use of composites is involved, there is bound to be variability in curing, fiber orientation, and bonding. All these tend to impact blade integrity and lifespan.

Rotor Aerodynamics and Efficiency: Wind turbine blades must maximise annual energy production (AEP) across different wind profiles, minimise noise, structural loads, drag, wake losses, and cost. This necessitates accurate aerodynamic optimisation custom-made to the wind distribution at specific sites. Furthermore, the blade shape, twist, pitch, and control mechanisms must also be optimised for optimal performance in normal and extreme load cases.

Noise and Regulatory Compliance: Modern turbines must adhere to stringent environmental noise limits. Noise emissions from turbines, especially near human habitation, have strict regulatory requirements. Predicting and mitigating turbine noise requires sophisticated turbulence and wake modeling, especially in large wind farms where cumulative noise is a factor, and also in ecologically sensitive zones.

Ice Accretion and Environmental Risks: In cold climates, ice accumulation can reduce efficiency by over 20 percent and pose many safety risks. If not addressed, ice throw and load imbalances due to uneven accretion can cause structural failures.

Structural and Composite Complexity: Wind turbine blades are large, slender, in tall towers, and made of advanced composites. They experience large cyclic loads. Modeling the structural response under dynamic loads, combined with material variability and manufacturing tolerances, is a massive task. The same goes for nacelles, towers, and offshore foundations.

Power Generation and Grid Integration: Wind systems require intelligent converters, generators, and MPPT (maximum power point tracking) systems to optimise power delivery and integrate smoothly into the grid. So, the challenges go way beyond mechanical design. Wind energy systems need stable power output, reliable electronics, and compatibility with grid fluctuations. Integrated simulations of electromagnetic, thermal, and structural behavior are also key.

Wind Farm Layout: A farm’s output is influenced by turbine placement, wake losses, terrain, forestry, and atmospheric physics. Engineers have to compare layouts fast and precisely. This is a task that is way beyond traditional empirical models.

Offshore Turbine Design: Offshore turbines must withstand ocean currents, saltwater corrosion, foundation dynamics, and extreme weather. Some intervention is needed to ensure early-stage feasibility and long-term durability.

Given these multi-layered challenges, physical prototyping is no longer viable for wind energy. It will take a lot of time, cost, and logistics. This is where simulation comes in.

The Role of Simulation

Simulation can guide every phase of a wind turbine’s journey from the drawing board to smooth operation. The simulation ecosystem spans aerodynamics, acoustics, structural mechanics, material science, power electronics, and more. This empowers engineers to validate designs faster and with more accuracy and confidence.

Here’s how simulation enables innovation across key lifecycle stages:

Wind Resource Assessment & Site Selection

Challenge: To predict energy yield, compare layouts, and account for terrain/wake effects.

Atmospheric CFD simulations can use actuator disk models to capture turbine wakes, blockage losses, and surface thermal effects. Their fully scripted workflows ensure that non-experts can also use them. So, simulation reduces layout optimisation time from weeks to days. It can also improve the accuracy of AEP predictions in complex terrains and offshore setups.

Rotor Blade Aerodynamics and Acoustics

Challenge: Maximise AEP, reduce noise, optimise blade shape.

With simulation, engineers can use MOSAIC meshing and adjoint solvers to optimise blade geometry automatically. Blade design iterations can be run faster and with more fidelity by considering turbulent eddies, wake effects, and structural interaction. Noise Prediction is enabled through dedicated acoustic modules. This allows teams to simulate near and far-field sound pressure and adjust blade design accordingly. +18 percent shaft power increase can be achieved through faster regulatory compliance for noise and efficiency metrics.

Icing Simulation and Mitigation

Challenge: Ice-induced performance loss, safety hazards.

Vertical icing simulation solutions can model droplet impingement, accretion, and aerodynamic penalties. Simulations also inform de-icing system design, optimising placement, energy use, and control logic. This prevents >20 percent AEP losses and proactively mitigates ice risks.

Structural Design of Blades, Nacelles, Towers

Challenge: Composite behaviour under load, buckling, fatigue, certification

Using detailed micromechanical models, the simulation can handle complex blade definitions. Engineers can simulate both linear and non-linear deformations. This means an early prediction of blade stiffness, strength, and life expectancy. Material selection and design modifications impact performance under operational loads while considering cost constraints. For nacelles and towers, conducting multiphysics and sensitivity analyses can evaluate these effects. This approach results in improved material utilisation, fewer prototypes, and greater success in initial design efforts through simulation.

Offshore Foundations and Mooring

Challenge: Dynamic ocean loading, novel installation methods

Simulation of fully assembled offshore turbines subject to sea states, mooring dynamics, and structural deformation can be done. Seamless coupling between kinematics and structural mechanics ensures reliable offshore designs. This means safe, long-lasting offshore platforms capable of enduring severe marine environments.

Manufacturing Optimisation

Challenge: Resin flow, curing processes, mold distortion

Simulation tools can model thermal expansion. This means curing shrinkage and exothermic behavior. To avoid costly recuts, engineers can compensate for mold geometry. This results in first-time-right molds, saves much cost, and reduces cycle times.

Power Generation, Electronics & Grid Integration

Challenge: Reliability of power electronics, energy storage, and grid stability

Simulation allows for an integrated workflow for electromagnetic design, system simulation, and battery management. Whether optimising a generator’s geometry or simulating electrothermal effects in battery packs, the Multiphysics ability guarantees end-to-end reliability. This minimises failure risks, maximises power density, and ensures smooth grid interconnection.

Wind Farm Operation and Control

Operators can proactively adjust turbine behavior using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms or mitigate oscillations via Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) control with digital twins and system-level simulation. Simulation also supports post-installation diagnostics for maintenance and performance tuning.

Future Prospect

With wind energy systems scaling in size and complexity, the margin for design error shrinks. Physical testing is increasingly impractical due to cost and logistics. Wind energy is an opportunity that comes with layers of complexity. Simulation offers predictive insights early in the design cycle and bridges the gaps. This saves time, cuts costs, and has way more sustainable outcomes.

The wind energy industry will develop on numerous fronts in the future. This includes digitising turbines, setting up hybrid plants, floating wind farms, and even autonomous operations. Simulation provides the clarity and capability needed to design the future of wind energy. Simulation covers everything from site selection and blade optimisation to structural durability, noise mitigation, manufacturing, and grid integration!

Simulation is a mere enabler and a true accelerator as the world moves toward a greener, more sustainable tomorrow.

- Pravin Nakod, Director Applications Engineering (CFD) - India & ASEAN, Ansys