EXSEEK™ WIND FARM OPTIMIZATION
Smarter control. More energy. No new models.
eXSeek™ uses a patented extremum seeking control algorithm to continuously maximize wind farm energy output — using only live SCADA data, with no physics-based modeling required.
The Problem with Conventional Wind Farm Control
Wind turbines in a farm don't operate independently. The wake of each upstream turbine — a region of reduced wind speed and increased turbulence — directly affects the energy available to turbines downstream. In a typical wind farm, wake losses can reduce annual energy production by 10–20%.
Conventional approaches to minimizing these losses rely on physics-based models: detailed aerodynamic simulations that must be calibrated to each specific site, each turbine type, and each operating condition. These models are expensive to develop, difficult to maintain, and struggle to adapt to the real-world variability of wind conditions, turbine aging, and component wear.
eXSeek™ takes a fundamentally different approach — one that requires no site-specific model at all.
Individual Turbine Optimization
Wind turbines experience performance degradation over time from component aging, leading edge erosion, ice accumulation, and sensor drift. Factory-supplied control algorithms are developed under ideal conditions that rarely match real-world operation — meaning most turbines are running below their true potential.
eXSeek™ addresses this by treating each turbine as a dynamic system to be optimized in real time. The algorithm continuously adjusts blade pitch and rotor speed based on live operational data, finding the true power-maximizing setpoint regardless of the underlying cause of performance variation. Field simulations project up to 12% improvement in instantaneous turbine power production.
Because eXSeek™ learns from operational data rather than a pre-built model, it adapts automatically as turbine performance changes — no recalibration required.
Wind Farm Optimization Through Wake Steering
At the farm level, eXSeek™ optimizes wake interactions between turbines by adjusting yaw angles — deliberately misaligning upstream turbines to redirect their wakes away from downstream rotors. This wake steering strategy can significantly increase total farm energy output without any hardware modifications to the turbines themselves.
The key innovation is how eXSeek™ finds the optimal yaw settings. Rather than relying on a physics-based wake model, the algorithm uses a Log-of-Power Extremum Seeking Control approach — a patented method developed at the University of Texas at Dallas and exclusively licensed by Arctura. The algorithm treats the entire wind farm as a single dynamic system and continuously searches for the operating point that maximizes total power output, using only the live SCADA data stream that wind farms already collect.
The result is a control system that adapts in real time to changing wind conditions, turbine aging, and site-specific effects — without the cost and complexity of model development and maintenance. Simulations project a 4.5% increase in annual energy production for a representative wind farm.
Buena Vista Wind Farm · Byron, California
Field Validation
Buena Vista Wind Farm, Byron, California
eXSeek™ is being validated at a 38-turbine commercial wind farm operated by Leeward Renewable Energy — the first commercial-scale deployment of the technology.
The Site
38 Mitsubishi M1000A turbines at the Buena Vista Wind Farm in Byron, CA, operated by Leeward Renewable Energy.
The Integration
Bachmann Electronic is installing their advanced wind turbine controller as part of a repowering project. eXSeek™ is deployed as a software integration on the Bachmann platform — no additional hardware required.
The Program
Open-loop static testing is underway, with closed-loop optimization testing to follow. Conducted under an active NSF STTR grant with Professor Mario Rotea at UT Dallas.
Why eXSeek™
Four things that set eXSeek™ apart
Development Partners
The team behind eXSeek™
University of Texas at Dallas
Algorithm Development · NSF STTR Partner
Prof. Mario Rotea, holder of the Erik Jonsson Chair in Engineering and Computer Science, leads the research collaboration and is the inventor of the Log-of-Power ESC method underlying eXSeek™.
Leeward Renewable Energy
Field Validation Host · Wind Farm Operator
Leeward operates the Buena Vista Wind Farm in Byron, CA, where eXSeek™ field validation is underway. Leeward is one of the largest independent renewable energy companies in North America.
Bachmann Electronic
Controls Hardware · Integration Partner
Bachmann's advanced wind turbine controller is being installed at Buena Vista as part of a repowering project. eXSeek™ is integrated as a software patch on the Bachmann platform.
Interested in eXSeek™ for your wind farm?
We're actively seeking wind farm operators and technology partners to support commercialization. Let's talk.
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