Editor’s note: This article comes from Campbell Scientific, Inc., a provider of dataloggers and data acquisition systems for long-term, unattended monitoring. It is written by Jacob Davis, a Customer Support/Implementation Engineer with the company. At some point, you may have watched the real-time wind readings from your datalogger and seen the wind speed bouncing back and…
Vaisala launches remote sensing support network
Vaisala, a global provider of environmental and industrial measurement, has signed a succession of new regional partnerships in response to rising global demand for its advanced wind-measurement system, the Triton Wind Profiler. Additionally, as wind farm owners and operators worldwide continue to expand their use of remote sensing in wind industry applications, Vaisala has launched…
The key role of energy storage backup power for wind-turbine pitch control
Editor’s note: This article comes from MaxPower Weekly, a blog from Maxwell Technologies. It is authored by Ralph Heick, Key Account Manager, EMEA. Wind turbines are strong, durable machines, but they are susceptible to damage by the wind they manage to harness into energy. To help protect the wind turbine from damage during excessive wind speeds or…
ZephIR wind lidar to support climate change research
An international team of scientists will head to the remote Southern Ocean with a ZephIR 300 wind lidar and provide the project’s remote wind measurements onboard the R/V Investigator, an Australian deep-ocean research vessel. The U.S. portion of the project is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The team’s discoveries will be used to…
What criteria should be considered when selecting & maintaining encoders for wind turbines?
Wind turbines require accurate and reliable blade pitch-control to optimize wind generation and safeguard the asset from extreme conditions that could cause damage. Turbine generators also rely on precise feedback to properly control and synchronize energy output with line frequency. Disruption of these processes can lead to poor turbine performance, downtime, or costly repairs. Encoders…
Vaisala’s pressure and humidity sensors soon again on their way to space
The new mission equipment will complement the already existing measurement tools on Mars taken there by Curiosity in 2012.
Total Eren to improve output of wind farm in Greece with Windfit by Sereema
Total Eren has chosen the Windfit technological solution developed by Sereema to equip its 40 MW Ptoon wind farm.
Straightpoint adds distance measurement tool to product range
Construction and other professionals can now measure force, load and distance with Straightpoint (SP) products, as the Hampshire, UK-based manufacturer launches the Wireless Linear Displacement Transducer (WLDT).
Substations for offshore wind farms get a Lidar upgrade
ZephIR Lidar technology was first deployed on an offshore platform at the Beatrice Offshore wind project in 2005
Deutsche WindGuard builds unique wind tunnel for LiDAR calibration
Deutsche WindGuard Wind Tunnel Services developed a special wind tunnel for the national metrology institute of Germany (PTB). The wind tunnel will be used to calibrate a LiDAR-System newly developed by PTB. The LiDAR has a high spatial and temporal resolution. It will be used by PTB as a traceable reference standard to calibrate other…
Reliance on met towers puts wind developers at a commercial disadvantage, says Vaisala
Major wind energy firms are rapidly expanding their use of remote sensing across their project portfolios, ending a three-decade reliance on meteorological (met) towers. To stay competitive, wind developers and operators must invest in redefining their measurement practices or risk falling behind the pack. Developers and operators that consolidate their use of the technology will…
GE’s Avitas Systems partners with Kraken to advance subsea robotic inspections
Kraken Robotics announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kraken Robotic Systems has entered a strategic partnership with Avitas Systems, a GE Venture. The companies will integrate Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), acoustic and laser sensor technology, and artificial intelligence-based navigation software into unique subsea inspection solutions for the offshore renewable energy and shipping industries. “Integrating our technologies with Avitas Systems…
Vaisala’s Triton cuts wind measurement costs in Canada’s cold climate
Canadian renewable energy developer Sequoia Energy Inc. has successfully used Vaisala’s Triton Wind Profiler remote sensing unit to secure financing and cut wind measurement costs in central Canada, where sub-zero temperatures, snow, and ice regularly disrupt measurement campaigns.
Spica Technology to adapt FT wind sensors for wind-turbine retrofits
Spica Technology ApS and FT Technologies recently signed a cooperation agreement to become integration partners. Under the contract, Spica Technology will develop software and electronics that allow ultrasonic high-performance FT wind sensors to be retrofitted in older wind turbines — without changing the software for the turbines. “We want to give the turbines the best…
Torino Power unwraps temperature sensor for low-voltage overhead cables
Torino engineers have taken the design of their existing Powerline Monitoring (“PLM”) transmission sensor and have reduced the overall sensor size to 1/3 for one of the most versatile, compact, passive temperature sensors in the market.
Vaisala partners with DryKeep to enhance transformer moisture monitoring
The MMT162 is a capacitive thin-film polymer sensor, developed by Vaisala to provide moisture measurements in liquid hydrocarbons, including those used to insulate transformers.
Is the tower tilting? Black Diamond tiltmeter could tell
The durability and precision of these tiltmeters make them excellent solutions for a variety of geotechnical applications including bridge sag and sway, dam monitoring, construction surveying and any other precision structural measurement.
RES selects Sereema’s Windfit sensors to optimize a wind farm performance in France
To optimize the production from its wind assets, the RES group will install Sereema Windfit sensors on six turbines on a wind farm in France.
Lighthouse Global is official Texas component supplier for HEIDENHAIN
Lighthouse Global Energy has partnered with HEIDENHAIN Corp. to become an official Texas distributor of HEIDENHAIN equipment components. With an in-house engineering department, as well as a full line of manufacturing and machining capabilities, Lighthouse Global Energy specializes in repair and manufacturing solutions for wind energy. For example, the company offers the Leine & Linde-brand…
Improving wind-turbine performance with PLCs
Tristan Le / Performance Engineer / AES Corporation Most turbines use mechanical anemometers and wind vanes to measure conditions at a wind farm. Data collected, including the wind speed and direction, is then sent to the turbine controllers, which help optimize the blades for maximum wind generation. However, there is often inherent vulnerability within these existing OEM monitoring…