An industry landmark moment occurred on Oct. 29, 2014, when a team that included NREL, Stuttgart University and DNV GL achieved control of an operational wind turbine using a ZephIR wind lidar. “This new installation of a ZephIR DM has taken a new direction in reducing yaw misalignment by providing the opportunity for full turbine…
Gamesa rewards an invention that enables automatic turbine rotor positioning
Gamesa has celebrated the fifth edition of its Patents and Inventors Competition, which is designed to acknowledge its employees’ efforts to develop innovative new technology with the potential to set the company’s technology offering apart from that of its competitors. This year’s prize has gone to a rotor positioning invention for which the patent application has…
Renewable NRG Systems introduces new SymphoniePRO data logger
Renewable NRG Systems (RNRG), a designer and manufacturer of decision support tools for the global renewable energy industry, has launched a new data logger that is specifically engineered to improve the performance of wind and solar measurement campaigns. Building on RNRG’s well-known Symphonie series of user-friendly loggers, the SymphoniePRO logger brings significant upgrades in terms…
Vaisala’s Nomad 3 allows worry-free wind-tower data management
Vaisala has launched the Nomad 3 Data Logger, a flexible and highly portable data management device that makes wind measurement easier and more economical for developers and operators around the globe. Early siting and ongoing investment and operational decisions, based largely on the quality of wind resource data, have a direct impact on the long-term…
World-first and new standard achieved in floating offshore LiDAR
AXYS Technologies (AXYS) has achieved a world-first that is likely to become the new standard in floating LiDAR devices by deploying a dual ZephIR 300 arrangement on the leading WindSentinel buoy. The WindSentinel ‘floating laboratory’ delivers a customized full suite of meteorological and metocean data, in addition to the wind speed and direction data used…
Fugro’s Seawatch Wind LiDAR Buoy provides bankable measurements for offshore wind farm
Fugro has been awarded a contract by Navitus Bay Development Ltd to provide real-time bankable wind profile data for a 12-month period using the Seawatch Wind LiDAR Buoy. The LiDAR buoy has achieved close to 100% data availability despite experiencing several storms since its deployment at the beginning of February. This compact and robust multi-purpose…
Offshore wind farm gets boost with ZephIR Lidar
ZephIR Lidar has installed a turbine-mounted ZephIR DM wind lidar on the 270-MW Lincs Offshore Wind Farm. Located five miles off the Skegness coast, Lincs Wind Farm is a joint venture between Centrica Energy, Siemens Project Ventures, and DONG Energy. It is anticipated that the installation of the lidar unit will help to identify opportunities…
AST’s multi-variable sensors are ideal for low-power systems
As the global market focuses on lean manufacturing, American Sensor Technologies (AST) offers multi-variable sensors that combine multiple sensing systems such as pressure, temperature, and even LVDT linear position sensors in one package. The package is designed to reduce the number of components in an installation, trim inventory stock and build times, and eliminate waste.…
Cornell University deploys dual ZephIR 300 wind lidars for accurate turbulence study of wind turbines
A pair of continuous wave ZephIR 300 wind lidars have been acquired by leading private institution of higher learning, Cornell University. Professor Rebecca Barthelmie, Croll Fellow, directs the Wind Energy Research Lab at Cornell University, and is a previous winner of the Scientific Award from the European Wind Energy Academy for “her extraordinary efforts and…
Parker Metallic Wear Sensor sets industry benchmark in effective testing
Parker Kittiwake, the global provider of asset control and protection technology, has successfully achieved the America Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) standard for its Metallic Wear Debris Sensor (MWDS). The MWDS is fully compliant with the ASTM D7917-2014 standard of testing for metallic wear; making it a leading global particle debris sensor and setting the…
Parker launches “Smart Cylinders” integrated with Intellinder Absolute-Position Sensor
Parker Hannifin Corporation, the global manufacturer in motion and control technology, is bringing new “smart cylinders” to the power generation market, featuring its “absolute position” Intellinder actuation sensor. Intellinder is a combination of a unique positional bar code pattern, etched on the cylinder’s piston rod, and a highly engineered optic reader. With resolution of up…
BeBop Sensors launches wearable smart fabric technology
Editor’s note: Wearable sensors are likely to provide a new range of applications in safety equipment that will be especially useful to industrial athletes such as wind turbine technicians. BeBop Sensors Inc. www.bebopsensors.com, the wearable sensor technology company created by musical instrument inventor Keith McMillen and KMI, has announced their first product, the BeBop Wearable…
Advanced particulate detection
CanWEA 2014, booth #1306 MetalSCAN from GasTOPS Ltd. is an on-line particulate sensor that was originally developed for advanced aircraft engines. The quantitative debris analysis directly correlates with the degree of damage on bearings or gearboxes. The scanner is able to detect ferrous and non-ferrous metals. www.gastops.com
Solid-Core ATH Series Current Transducer from NK Technologies now available for 120VAC applications
NK Technologies solid-core case ATH Series Current Transducers with Time Integration now accommodate 120 VAC power supplies for use in heater monitoring applications. ATH current transducers are also available in solid-core or split-core 24 volt models. ATH current transducers are compatible with most automation systems and are ideal for monitoring burst fired time proportional control…
All Sensors releases its new ½ inH2O digital pressure sensor
All Sensors Corporation of Morgan Hill, California has announced a new ½ inH2O digital pressure sensor. This device is an addition to the existing DLVR Series Pressure Sensor family. The new ½ inH2O digital pressure sensor provides design engineers the ability to measure very low pressures with a compensated digital output signal. The DLVR Series…
New limit alarm from NK Technologies
NK Technologies new ASD Series Current Sensing Switches provide a limit alarm contact with the easiest adjustment method ever designed. These current sensing switches feature a single turn potentiometer, allowing the trip point to be set before the sensor is installed or before the monitored circuit is energized. In conjunction, the ASD features an LED…
Lufft weather sensors working at the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil
From the Lufft Blog Brazil is one of the most densely populated countries in South America and the fifth largest country in the world. Extremely diversity prevails here: from a highly industrialized center to a population living in very poor conditions. In the major cities especially, many people live in poverty. But the carnival in…
Big data could improve windpower efficiency and profits
By Steven Bushong, Associate Editor Wind turbines are learning to talk. Just as a patient shares symptoms with a doctor, wind turbines are increasingly able to communicate to each other and their manufacturers, decreasing the number of unexpected faults while increasing energy production. The language is data or, depending on the scale of information, big…
New system for measuring lightning data can reduce costly downtime
The Lightning Key Data System measures the key figures when a lightning strike hits a wind turbine and provides accurate and valuable data for making the best decisions right away. Lightning Key Data System is a new monitoring system developed by the Danish company Global Lightning Protection Services A/S. The system is designed and tested…
NK Technologies introduces ASC series switches
NK Technologies, a manufacturer of current sensors and transducers, recently introduced ASC Series Current Operated Switches. The ASC switches are precision calibrated at the factory per customer specifications and guaranteed within 1% accuracy. Because the switch is factory calibrated, field installation time and effort is minimized, resulting in significant cost savings and improved performance consistency.…