Investigation on the feasibility and enhancement methods of wind power utilization in high-rise buildings of Hong Kong

This paper reports the investigation results of wind power application in buildings. It is found that the concentration effect of buildings and the heights of buildings could enhance wind power utilization by increasing the wind speed by 1.5-2 x and wind power density by 3-8 x under the given simulation conditions. The wind aerodynamics and wind flows over the buildings are investigated based on local meteorological data and local high-rise building characteristics. This paper concludes that wind power utilization in high-rise buildings in Hong Kong is feasible theoretically, and some effective enhancement methods are proposed based on the simulation results, such as making full use of the heights of buildings and the concentration effect of buildings, and choosing optimal shape of building roof. However, to receive the highest potential wind energy resource and avoid turbulent areas, the tool of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has to be used to model the annual wind flows over buildings to help analyze, locate, and design wind turbines in and around buildings. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.