A Fast and Complete Site Suitability Evaluation for your Wind Park 

November 18, 2025 Articles & PR | Product Update | Offshore | Onshore 6 min read time

Before any design work begins, every wind park requires a thorough understanding of its environmental and operational constraints. Fast, reliable site suitability assessments help developers anticipate risks, validate turbine choices, and ensure that early decisions are backed by accurate data rather than assumptions. With the right methodology, teams can move from uncertainty to clarity long before the first turbine position is defined.

Navigating Turbulence, Wake Effects & Turbine Limits  in Wind Parks

Selecting the right turbine and identifying optimal turbine positions isn’t as straightforward as choosing a model and placing it on a map. Turbulence intensity, wake effects, and site-specific wind behavior all influence how much load a turbine will experience over its lifetime. 

If a turbine is placed in conditions that exceed its certified turbulence class, the result can be: 

Increased mechanical wear

Reduced production efficiency

Higher maintenance costs

Delays in certification

The need to reconsider layout or even redesign the park

For developers, OEMs, and certifiers, aligning on “what conditions the turbine will actually operate under” is one of the most sensitive — and costly — steps in the development process. This alignment becomes even more crucial when dealing with complex wind park layouts where topography, wake interactions, and local wind patterns can vary dramatically from one position to the next. A misunderstanding in these conditions can lead to misclassified turbines, unexpected mechanical loads, or even compliance issues that delay project approvals. Ensuring a shared interpretation of operational conditions early in the process avoids costly redesigns and helps all parties move forward with confidence.

Graphic showing individual turbine turbulence and wake impact analysis in a wind park.

Automated Turbulence Class Evaluation in Youwind 

The Youwind platform streamlines this challenge by automatically evaluating the turbulence characteristics for every turbine position in a layout. Using IEC-61400-compliant wake modeling (for more information on IEC-61400, please check International Electrotechnical Commission), the tool considers: 

Ambient wind conditions

Turbine-to-turbine interactions

Wake-induced turbulence increases

Statistical wind distribution

The result is a single wind-speed–dependent turbulence curve for each position, compared directly against the turbine’s certified turbulence class (A, B, C, or S). 

Youwind then displays: 

Which turbines comply with the selected class

Which turbines operate under the highest turbulence

How wake and layout choices drive these results

This gives developers immediate insight into where risks or overspecification may be hiding, without diving into the full technical complexity of the standard. Instead of spending days manually analyzing data or cross-referencing turbulence classes, teams can instantly see whether each turbine position meets requirements or requires adjustment. This clarity also facilitates better communication with engineering partners and certification bodies, since all stakeholders are looking at standardized, transparent calculations. As a result, decisions that once took multiple iterations can now be made in minutes, reducing uncertainty and keeping the overall design workflow aligned and efficient.

Strategic Impact: Better Design, Lower Costs, and Stronger Alignment 

Understanding turbulence correctly is more than a technical requirement, it’s a strategic advantage. 

By clearly identifying turbulence constraints early, developers can: 

Optimize layout to reduce turbulence levels

Avoid unnecessarily high-class turbines, cutting procurement costs

Align with OEMs and certifiers using standardized, transparent calculations

Accelerate design approvals by grounding decisions in IEC-based modeling

Explore cost–benefit trade-offs between layout changes and turbine selection

In a landscape where turbine costs, supply chain constraints, and development timelines are under increasing pressure, having fast, reliable, and standardized turbulence assessments becomes a competitive differentiator. A well-designed wind park gains not only performance advantages but also economic resilience, since accurately matching turbine class to true site conditions prevents unnecessary oversizing and long-term financial exposure.

With Youwind, teams gain a shared, traceable understanding of site conditions, ensuring that every turbine in the project is not only well-placed but also fully fit for purpose. This level of transparency strengthens collaboration across departments and provides a solid foundation for making informed design choices from day one.

Written by Pieter Gebraad, Chief Engineer

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