Patent ID: 7250691

Claim:
A method of operating a wind farm having a plurality of wind turbine stations capable of providing energy to a predetermined location, comprising: a. obtaining wind availability histories for the wind farm location during predetermined time intervals; b. determining energy demand histories for the predetermined location during said predetermined time intervals; c. comparing the wind availability histories with the energy demand histories for said predetermined time intervals, and determining during which period or periods of the year the wind availability histories are least closely matched with the energy demand histories, and during which period or periods of the year the wind availability histories are most closely matched with the energy demand histories; d. determining the total number of wind turbines to be installed and/or used on said wind farm, based upon the total intercept area of each wind turbine to be used, and taking into account the wind availability and energy demand histories and comparisons during the least closely matched period or periods of the year; e. determining a ratio between the total number of wind turbines to be dedicated to providing energy for immediate use, and the total number of wind turbines to be dedicated to providing energy for storage, taking into account the wind availability and energy demand histories and comparisons during the least closely matched period or periods of the year; f. based on said ratio, and taking into account the wind availability and energy demand histories and comparisons during the least closely matched period or periods of the year, providing the following: a predetermined number of wind turbine stations dedicated to providing energy for immediate use; and a predetermined number of wind turbine stations dedicated to providing energy for energy storage.