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Choosing
a wind system depends not only on the wind turbine but also on the wind available at your
site.
Especially with larger grid
connected wind turbines where the capital investment is greatest, accurate wind monitoring is
an essential first step in determining how much power can be produced, for how much of the
time, and how quickly the investment can be paid back.
For smaller installations, the cost of such
equipment can exceed the cost of the installation itself so other methods are necessary.
The simplest of these is observation over a period of time and if the proposed user is
living on the site they will have a good idea of average wind conditions.
Available data
 The whole of the UK has a windspeed "map"
which uses a computer simulation.
By entering your site location you can obtain information about the
winds in your km square (and the surrounding ones) at various heights.
This data can then be compared with typical outputs
for various turbines.
Since twice the
wind speed could provide eight times the potential resource, carrying
out some simple monitoring on-site will enable the viability of the wind
to be more accurately assessed, particularly on a month-by-month basis
and with a shorter "averaging" period.
Weather
Stations have developed considerably over the past few years and
provide excellent value for those interested in learning more about
their site. Connection to a PC allows a very useful site history
of weather patterns to be created.
For more remote
sites it is necessary to use a battery powered logger and the
Wind
Prospector provides the basic characteristics necessary for an initial
wind energy assessment. Used from Africa to Australia.
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Variability
Variations in wind speed on a daily and seasonal
basis, and how this relates to the pattern of energy usage, is also important. This is
particularly so with battery storage systems.
A small increase in average windspeed
will result in a large increase in long-term energy output.
Wind
Monitoring For Grid Connection
To
determine the economics of a sizeable wind turbine requires a more
detailed analysis of the wind regime at the site. Accurate wind
monitoring is an essential first step in determining how much power
can be produced, for how much of the time and how quickly the
investment can be paid back. It will be a requirement for any external
financing.
To achieve the
required accuracy the wind resource needs to be recorded over time,
usually as 10 minute or Hourly means of speed and direction.
The NRG range uses removable solid-state memory storage in a very robust
carrier. Using chips as opposed to cards or tapes means no
possibility of data loss due to internal battery failures etc.- chips
can be sent safely by post, we have successfully analysed chips sent from as far away as the
Falkland Islands.
They can be
easily changed by a local stockman and, although we could offer
cell-phone loggers, a monthly visit to the site has proven it's worth
by enabling preventative maintenance.
Downloading the
data requires a reader which plugs into a PC RS232 port. The
data is retrieved into a spreadsheet compatible format.
Anemometer
Masts
We supply a 10m
Wind Prospector Mast or
NRG TallTowers available up to 60m.
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