Financing Implications of Wind Measurement Technologies
Tony RogersDNV Global Energy Concepts Inc.
116 John StreetLowell, MA 01852 USA
1/17/2009
www.globaenergyconcepts.comwww.dnv.com
DNV-Global Energy Concepts
• 20 years of wind energy consulting– Data collection and analysis– Energy analysis– Project due diligence– Turbine engineering– Feasibility studies
• 110 people in Seattle, 15 in Lowell• Part of DNV
– Turbine and wind project certification
Wind Measurement Technologies
• Tower based anemometry– Tubular towers (to 60 m)– Lattice towers (to 100+ m)
• Remote Sensing– Sodars– Lidars
Anemometers
• Very familiar technology• The de-facto standard for
energy assessments• Issues
– Tower flow effects– Turbulence and vertical flow
effects
Financing with Anemometers
• Banks are familiar with anemometers
• Banks rely on energy analyst’s judgment– Judgments based on data quality, quantity,
measurement heights, number of towers, project size, terrain, loss estimates…
• No questions about use of anemometers
Remote Sensing
• Advantages– Easily portable– Measurements to turbine hub heights
• Issues– Data recovery decreases with height– Siting issues
• Complex flow, echo and ambient noise
– Shear effects– Vector vs. scalar averages
Financing with Remote Sensing
• Banks are unfamiliar with RS
• Banks rely on analyst’s judgment
• Progress on technological and analytical issues
• Planning is needed to maximize value of data
• Used in support of tower data
Technology Issues Related to Remote Sensing
• Maturing technology– Software/hardware changes– Manufacturing consistency, robustness– New vendors, new products– Limited performance data base
• Siting Issues– Echoes, ground clutter– Complex flow
Analysis Issues Related to Remote Sensing
• Lack of familiarity with technology– Performance– Magnitude of possible biases– Measurement uncertainty
• Lack of understanding how to use data– Value, use of short-term data sets
Remote Sensing for Energy Assessments
• Need a Plan!
• Address largest uncertainties
• Best practices siting
• Nearby tower!
• Verification against a tower
• Need to capture seasonal changes
0
5
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0 5 10 15 20
60 m SODAR Wind Speed (m/s)
58 m
To
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Win
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m/s
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