Wake Losses Explained: Where Does the Missing Wind Energy Go?


Every spinning turbine leaves an invisible shadow, and the turbines behind it pay for it! Yes, you heard that right! In fact, reports say that wind plants can give up to 20% of their gross energy production to wake losses. (Source) So, where does the missing energy go? Well, the answer is that it goes into a slower, choppier stream of air that the next row of rotors inherits, and you can only manage it if you can see it. This is where a scanning wind measurement LiDAR comes in handy because it does exactly that by tracing moving air across a site instead of a single point.​

What is a Wake?

When a rotor extracts energy, the air behind it slows down and gets more turbulent, and that region is called the wake. It slowly refills as turbulence pulls faster air down from above, which is why a wake can stretch a long way downwind before it fades. In addition, turbine spacing, wind direction, as well as turbulence all change how much the next machine feels it, so yes, the energy isn't missing; it is just hidden.​

Can You Actually Watch a Wake Happen?

Of course you can, and this is where laser sensing earns its keep. The TDWL-012A from WindRay LiDAR Laser supports wake vortex monitoring with a range of up to 12 km depending on weather, and pointing accuracy of 0.05 degrees. In addition, it also supports custom scanning modes, so you can aim the beam at the exact corridor that you want to study.​

How Does the Turbine Itself Spot a Wake?

A nacelle-mounted LiDAR looks forward from the turbine instead of out across the site. WindRay LiDAR TDWL-800T supports wake detection and wind farm control, measuring ten configurable layers at 4 Hz out to 800 meters. Because it also supports yaw alignment and error correction, the same data stream helps keep a rotor pointed where the wind actually is.​

Why Is It Important to Measure Wind Speeds at Different Heights?

Most people don't realize the fact that wakes are three-dimensional, and wind rarely moves at the same speed at every height. A vertical wind profile lidar such as the TDWL-300G reads ten configurable layers between 40 and 300 meters around the clock. That shows you wind shear and the strength of the faster air above, which is exactly what refills a wake, while also giving you a clean baseline before most turbines go up.​

Does the Sky Above Play a Role?

Yes, it does because the boundary layer is the lowest part of the atmosphere, and it is where much of that turbulent mixing happens. A ground-based laser ceilometer like the TDWL-015H reports boundary layer and aerosol backscatter data, detects three or more cloud layers up to 15 km, and has no blind zone. It adds the atmospheric context that wind data alone cannot offer.​

Conclusion

Wake losses are not a mystery, and they are not something to simply accept as the cost of building in rows. They are a measurable result of how air behaves behind a spinning rotor, and they can be observed at the site level, at the turbine, across different heights, and in the atmosphere above, provided that you can see the wind clearly with a WindRay LiDAR.

Want wake data that you can act on? Reach out to the team at WindRay LiDAR, and tell them what you are trying to measure. Professionals from the firm will help you shape custom specifications, and of course a bespoke quote.

Source: https://windraylidar.wordpress.com/2026/10/29/wake-losses-explained-where-does-the-missing-wind-energy-go/

Location: China

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