Page 41 - North American Clean Energy July/August 2020 Issue

Plus, as turbines grow bigger and reach higher, companies are finding that building, permitting, and installing the correspondingly high met masts and instrumentation is becoming increasingly cumbersome, risky, time-intensive, and expensive. Additionally, wind and other renewable energy projects tend to require face-to-face meetings with communities, permitting authorities, and government bodies, all of which can be difficult to arrange in the age of social distancing.
Lidar sensors measure the full wind regime and characteristics of the wind flow, including windspeed, wind direction, and turbulence. Not only are they the best method of quickly obtaining measurements, but installation can be completed
in just hours. Additionally, the sensor instantly tracks wind measurements at a distance of more than 200 meters — well beyond that of a traditional met mast. Even better, because lidars are mobile, compact, and deploy in a straightforward and easy manner, if developers need to move the sensor for extra measurements, they can do so quickly and easily without requiring a permit or building a tower.
Social distancing and smaller teams with lidar
From complex terrain to demanding offshore environments, lidar sensors are easy to maneuver and set up. With social distancing requirements complicating the installation of wind measurement technologies, it’s important that organizations consider doing more with less staff. During our current health crisis, that means using fewer people on the job to increase safety and limit the spread of COVID-19.
While the installation of a traditional met mast uses upward of eight individuals (due to the more complicated assembly), installing lidar sensors for wind measurement can require as few as two trained installers. And, where met mast installation can take three days to complete, ground-based lidars for measurement of simple terrain install in just one day. Nonessential travel restrictions and the shuttering of hotels across the country have made the logistics of met mast and remote sensing installations especially challenging. However, with less staff involved in launching the lidar wind measurement tools, arranging shelter for those smaller teams becomes much easier.
At the end of the day, obtaining accurate wind information is vital in order to receive approval to finance a new development project. Utilizing remote sensing during this time enables the rapid and safe procurement of wind data needed
to acquire funding and remain on schedule. Lidar’s ease of installation not only makes the process faster, it also requires fewer people to get the job done. With lidar continuing to push the industry forward in the midst of a global pandemic, the wind industry is poised for success in this new normal, and should stay on track to emerge stronger than ever.
Ameya Paseband is a Renewable Energy Engineer for Leosphere, a Vaisala company. He works on lidar applications in aviation, wind energy, and meteorology. He is also an experienced trainer who has worked with many diverse customers in over
20 countries. As a field engineer for Leosphere, he has worked on various lidar applications during all stages of a wind project.
Leosphere /// www.leosphere.com Vaisala /// www.vaisala.com
Managed rack mount ethernet switches
Antaira Technologies’ LMP-2602G-SFP and LMX-2602G-SFP series are industrial- grade equipment that is Ethernet ready to fulfill various markets’ networking applications in harsh industrial environments. These devices support high-density Ethernet port connectivity, wide bandwidth, long-distance data transmission, and have a superb reliability factor. Some applications require using a ring technology for complete redundant network designs. Antaira’s LMP-2602G-SFP and LMX-2602G- SFP series uses ERPS or G.8032 which is an open ring architecture. This permits
the use of various other Antaira switches as well as other manufactures like Cisco participating in the ring. Open standards give the network architect the flexibility to design an efficient network without being tied to one manufacturer. Fiber interfaces used in both ring and non-ring applications give the ability to extend a network out past traditional buildings, across campuses, and even towns. At the same time, it
can be difficult to maintain the networking equipment when they are located a far distance away. Managed switches are critical in controlling and predicting failures on the network as well as determining when and where issues reside.
Antaira Technologies /// www.antaira.com
Flange fitting station for onshore and offshore wind towers
With PEMA FF station, flange fitting is possible without turning the shell, and thus cranes can be released to other tasks. Also, the amount of repairing is minimized as there is no need for lifting clamps. With PEMA FF station, the production time for flange fitting and welding is reduced while the quality of fit-up only increases. The station can be integrated with PEMA Column&Boom, which enables welding to
be done in the same place. The integration significantly increases the easiness and efficiency of manufacturing, and it's been proven successful also in offshore wind tower foundation production.
Pemamek, Ltd /// www.pemamek.com
ELECTRIC MATERIALS COMPANY
Supplier to OEMs, aftermarket, and wind farm owners.
In-house engineering, quality, and metallurgical support.
◊ Reverse-engineering capabilities
◊ SlipRingAssemblies(brassandsteelrings)
◊ Copper busbar
◊ Copper earthing clamps/cable clamps
◊ Copper and copper-alloy extrusions, castings, and forgings
◊ AC rotors, DC commutators, and DC busbar systems
◊ CNC machining and plating to customers’ specifications.
◊ ISO 9001:2015 certified
800-356-2211
www.elecmat.com [email protected]
North American Clean Energy
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