Three members of Sandia National Laboratories’ Wind Energy Technologies department presented technical papers at the AIAA SciTech 2016 conference in San Diego. Over 3500 participants attended the 5-day conference—which co-locates 12 technical conferences, including the 34th ASME Wind Energy Symposium—allowing for many cross-disciplinary exchanges.
Texas Tech University mobile doppler radars provide unique wind measurements to multi-instrument DOE Field Campaign
Over the past few years, Texas Tech University researchers have been collecting and analyzing dual-Doppler wind speed and direction data from operating wind plants using their unique Ka-band (TTUKa) mobile Doppler radars. Researchers have documented features of complex flow including turbine wakes, turbine-to-turbine interaction, wind speed ramps and small-scale gust/lull features called “streaks.” Their valuable observations have…
Why a difference between prediction and production, and other wind-farm mysteries
“The wind-resource assessment report makes a lot of sense before sanctioning a buy,” says Bohara. “But is there also something else useful in the report if you’re managing the site? Yes.
Meteorology explained for wind energy professionals
The fundamentals of meteorology dictate the success or failure of wind projects, says Dr Landberg, yet many of the industry’s decision makers lack a ready resource for understanding the important theoretical concepts they need.
Cancalia’s updated wind-flow modeling software is now available
Software developer Cancalia has announced that the next version of their wind-flow modeling software is now available. Continuum 2.0 provides wind-flow developers with quick and accurate modeling and affordable licensing. “In Continuum 2.0, the wind-flow model was extended to include an innovative surface roughness model, which significantly improves the model’s accuracy at sites with variable…
NREL program investigates the impact of wind flow on wind farms
Atmosphere to Electrons (A2e) is a multi-year, U.S. Department of Energy research initiative with the goal of reducing wind-power project costs through an improved, physics-based understanding of the wind plant operating environment through advanced modeling and simulation capability. According to the research initiative, better insight into flow physics has the potential to reduce energy losses…
NREL and Statoil collaborate to make first multi-turbine floating offshore wind array
Editor’s Note: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is collaborating with Norway company, Statoil, for the development of what could be the world’s first multi-turbine floating offshore wind structure. The following article, written by Sheri Anstedt, provides more details and is reprinted with permission from the NREL. A recent study performed by the National Wind…
How turbulent winds abuse wind turbine drivetrains
Several years of monitoring drive train loads on a range of turbines show how frequently occurring wind events and those common to normal operations abuse drive trains and shorten gearbox life. Doug Herr / General Manager / AeroTorque Corporation David Heidenreich /Chief Engineer (Ret.) / AeroTorque Corporation Wind turbines see a broad range of dynamic loads…
NOAA buys WINDCUBE Scanning Lidars from Renewable NRG Systems
Renewable NRG Systems, a designer and manufacturer of decision support tools for the global renewable energy industry, announced the recent sale of two WINDCUBE 200S 3D Scanning Doppler Lidars to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). WINDCUBE 200S Lidars incorporate advanced techniques to measure the wind components on a large scale for short-term campaigns…
What types of software are available for wind resource data and assessment?
Wind development and consulting firms depend on engineering and support software. The general categories of software that companies might use include: wind data validation and analysis, wind farm design and optimization, and online wind data resources that leverage geographic information system (GIS) technology to support preliminary site screening and evaluation of wind resources. Online Wind…
Wind farms perform best when the sun is out
When set up in groups, wind turbines in the front rows cast a wind shadow on those behind them, lowering their performance. These effects dissipate fastest under convective conditions, according to Swiss researchers from EPFL, in a recent journal. Obviously, wind farms work best when it’s windy. But aside from wind-speed and direction, there are…
Wind Plant Optimization from the Wind Topical Expert Meeting
These comments come from the recent Field Test Instrumentation and Measurement Topical Expert Meeting and were submitted by Sandia National Labs. On October 7 and 8, the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Topical Expert Meeting (TEM) on Field Test Instrumentation and Measurement Best Practices was held at Texas Tech University. The event, hosted by the…
Producing more power at existing wind projects: Advanced technology for operational optimization
Barry Logue · Wind Energy Application Manager · Vaisala Inc. Energy – Measurements · www.vaisala.com A few recent tools that help with the continuous operational optimization of a wind farm include remote sensing and advanced mesoscale computer models. As the wind-power industry matures, project developers, owner-operators, and financiers are asking for more reliable predictions of power output from new construction and existing assets.…
NREL software lets engineers see how wind behaves and more
Wind energy is so close to achieving cost parity with fossil fuels that just a little extra efficiency is all that is likely needed to push it into the mainstream and past the Energy Department’s goal of 20% wind energy by 2030. That extra efficiency may be realized with the help of a software developed…
US Wind: R&D project shows nacelle-mounted LIDAR reduces yaw misalignment, improves turbine performance
A collaborative research project at the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has shown that the Wind Iris nacelle-mounted LIDAR from Avent Lidar Technology is an effective diagnostic tool for identifying wind turbine yaw misalignment, letting users improve wind turbine performance. This is the first independent scientific field study validating the benefits of…
SgurrEnergy demonstrates method to cut the cost of offshore wind power curve tests
A pioneering offshore wind measurement campaign by leading renewable energy consultancy, SgurrEnergy, part of Wood Group, has completed the first ever power performance assessment (PPA) using a scanning lidar deployed on the transition piece of an AREVA M5000 offshore wind turbine. This success has huge implications for the offshore wind industry as this study shows…
Edition 3 of NREL’s wind plant optimization and systems engineering newsletter
The Wind Plant Optimization and Systems Engineering Newsletter series from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Wind Energy Systems Engineering Initiative highlights current system approaches to the wind energy research, design, engineering, and development. Each quarterly edition provides short overviews of the integrated, interdisciplinary, and holistic work that is happening in this field. The wind…
Complex wind flows finally giving up their secrets
Steering turbine wakes by controlling yaw and seeing real-time measurements of wind flow through a wind farm are just two ideas and developments from Sandia’s recent reliability workshop. The complex interactions of wind with many turbines across a large wind farm are not difficult to imagine but a dickens to confirm. During one session at…
ABB and Baldor Wind Turbine Technology recognized at new SWiFT facility in Texas
The Department of Energy (DOE), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), National Wind Institute of Texas Tech University (NWI/TTU), and Group NIRE (NIRE) recently commissioned the SWiFT (Scaled Wind Farm Technology) test facility in Lubbock, Texas. ABB was invited to attend the special event, and was recognized as among the companies that provided key equipment to the facility.…
Academics choose SgurrEnergy’s Galion Lidar for wind research
Two universities have recently purchased long range Galion Lidar from renewable energy consultancy, SgurrEnergy. The Centre for Advanced Condition Monitoring (CACM) at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and the Atmospheric Science Program of Indiana University (IU) in the U.S. will use the Galion for wind energy research projects. Galion Lidar is a powerful wind…