Catch the Wind Ltd. has delivered a summary report of data collected to date from its Vindicator Laser Wind Sensor (LWS) field trials and customer evaluation programs.
Specific energy output data collected over a span of 11 months indicated that the Vindicator LWS consistently generated 14% increased energy output as compared to periods when the legacy wind direction inputs were utilized, with optimization experiments showing increased energy output in excess of 20%. Key highlights of the summary report presented are:
Specific energy output data collected over a span of 11 months indicated that the Vindicator LWS consistently generated 14% increased energy output as compared to periods when the legacy wind direction inputs were utilized, with optimization experiments showing increased energy output in excess of 20%. Key highlights of the summary report presented are:
- The Vindicator LWS was installed on five turbines ranging in size from 1.3MW to more than 2.0MW.
- In one field trial, the Vindicator LWS generated an average energy output increase of 14% on a 1.65MW turbine over 11 months.
- Using a more optimized control algorithm, the Vindicator LWS generated an energy output increase of greater than 20% on the same 1.65MW turbine.
- The Vindicator LWS also generated an average energy output increase of 11.1% on a 1.3MW turbine in a separate evaluation program.
- The increases in energy production were due to improved pointing accuracy and increased large scale wind gust detection resulting from wind direction inputs measured by the Vindicator LWS system.
- Data measured by the Vindicator LWS further demonstrated that turbines using traditional wind measurement systems typically experience RMS yaw errors in excess of 21 degrees.
