Leosphere, a Vaisala-owned company that specializes in developing, manufacturing and servicing wind lidar instruments for wind energy, has announced a number of improvements to its WindCube system, a vertical profiling lidar.
“With renewable energy technologies continuing to advance and proliferate, wind power generation is set to take off in an increasing number of geographies around the globe,” said David Pepy, head of renewable energy business, Leosphere.
“To maximize efficiency and production, a complete, accurate view of the wind profile is essential — particularly as wind turbines become increasingly larger, especially offshore. These latest WindCube enhancements provide that. Just as critical, our new services, including a suite of validation options through our partnership with DNV GL, will increase lidar operational continuity and maximize uptime. Combined, these new improvements empower wind farm developers and operators to harness the power of wind energy more quickly, efficiently and affordably.”
The company states that enhancements include a new, hybrid wind reconstruction algorithm alongside an increased wind measurement range and the capability to undertake more simultaneous measurements at different heights.
Furthermore, a suite of new validation services, delivered through a partnership with DNV GL, is claimed to maximize uptime and simplify third-party validations. The validations include testing against a ‘Golden Lidar’ before units leave the factory, IEC validation by DNV GL and an optional warranty service to maintain IEC compliance.
“We’ve reviewed already more than 45 of the enhanced WindCube lidars and can conclude that WindCube meets the highest standards for accuracy,” said Bastian Schmidt, remote sensing team leader at DNV GL. “The improvement of the wind reconstruction algorithm surely has the potential to help with bankability and measurement accuracy.”