Vaisala adds to its remote-sensing offerings for wind developers

Vaisala, a global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements, is introducing Leosphere‘s top industry lidar (light detection and ranging) technology into its portfolio of offerings in North American markets. With the acquisition of Leosphere, Vaisala will broaden its extensive range of weather and environmental measurement solutions. In addition, Vaisala now provides end-to-end sales and support services for the Windcube portfolio of lidar systems to customers in the U.S. and the rest of the world. 

“According to the American Wind Energy Association, a record number of wind farms were under construction in the U.S. in 2018. Vaisala can now provide this burgeoning industry with the most complete suite of environmental sensing devices available,” said Matt Jones, VP, Weather and Environment Americas, Vaisala.

Lidar is a remote-sensing method that leverages pulsed laser to measure wind to the height required by modern wind turbines – a key capability of the Windcube lidars now available through Vaisala. Leosphere lidars offer a wide range of solutions to track wind speed and direction required for new wind farm planning and construction. To date, there are more than 1,400 Leosphere lidars installed worldwide.

“As turbine manufacturers continue building taller, our suite of innovative remote-sensing instruments provides reliable data for planning and operations, which can dramatically improve a project’s potential profitability for years to come.”

By redefining the use of lidar within the renewable energy space, the Leosphere Windcube suite of systems is discreet, mobile, and capable of remotely reaching greater heights to aggregate superior data for wind prospecting. The Windcube systems empower owners to increase efficiency in long-term wind energy production by enabling the potential for full rotor sweep measurement.

Vaisala offers four distinct Leosphere Windcube lidar systems:

• • Windcube Vertical Profiler: An ultra-portable lidar providing accurate wind measurements up to 200 meters, validated onshore and offshore by international standards and guidelines.

• • Windcube Scanning Wind Doppler Lidar: Offers wind measurement up to 10 kilometers, as well as multiple scanning patterns. Used for leading edge applications in wind energy, meteorology, severe weather research, vortex measurements, and real-time wind shear detection at airports.

• • Wind Iris: Mounted on wind turbine nacelles for power performance data to measure and optimize wind turbine performance. 

• • Wind Iris TC (Turbine Control): Integrated in wind turbines on and offshore. Provides real-time characterization of wind, enabling turbine manufacturers to improve wind turbine design and efficiency.

“Trusted by the FAA and the significant majority of airports across the country as well as NOAA, Vaisala is a global leader in measurement for roads, airports and the environment as well as industrial measurements,” said Jones. “The acquisition of Leosphere raises the bar in the remote sensing technology Vaisala can provide to ensure a quality investment for capital-intensive wind farm initiatives.”