Germany: SgurrEnergy, AREVA to Launch Pioneering Offshore Wind Measurement Campaign

Leading renewable engineering consultancy, SgurrEnergy, in partnership with AREVA Wind, has announced the launch of the most comprehensive offshore wind energy measurement campaign ever conducted in the industry.

The offshore measurement campaign involves the deployment of three of SgurrEnergy’s G4000 Offshore Galion Lidar devices, the most compact and advanced wind energy scanning Lidar in the world, on an AREVA M5000-116 wind turbine located in the offshore test field, Alpha Ventus, in the German North Sea.

AREVA Wind is a subsidiary of the French energy group AREVA. The company, who manufactures and commissions offshore wind turbines, elected to work with Glasgow-based SgurrEnergy, part of Wood Group, on the unique project due to the capabilities of its Galion Lidar to conduct power performance assessments on offshore wind turbines. Using techniques pioneered by SgurrEnergy Lidar experts, a Galion installed on the transition piece or nacelle of a wind turbine can measure the free stream wind at hub height to several rotor diameters. This method provides a realistic alternative to an offshore met mast, which is often rejected as financially unviable.

The campaign will involve the simultaneous collection of wind data at multiple measurement points by three Galion devices; providing detailed information on the wind resource before and after it interacts with the investigated turbine. This data, along with that collected by the turbine itself, which AREVA Wind has instrumented with high resolution sensors, will produce a comprehensive picture, previously unattainable to the wind energy industry, of inflowing wind and its influence throughout the structure of a turbine, from blades to foundations.

SgurrEnergy is the first company in the industry to place three scanning Lidars on one wind turbine and the techniques facilitated by their Galions will allow for more extensive testing of offshore turbines than has ever before been possible. This use of identical scanning Lidars installed in all test locations, including the wind turbine nacelle, uniquely allows the adoption of a common measurement principle which will support the validation of the campaign results.

The project will take place over a period of three to six months and SgurrEnergy’s wind analysis team, based in Glasgow, will manage the measurement campaign remotely; controlling the Galions’ scan geometries, settings, and timings.

SgurrEnergy’s experienced engineers will also be involved in the deployment and commissioning of each Lidar at the test site in Germany.

It’s expected that the data acquired by this offshore measurement campaign will be used to inform understanding of the conditions in which large and complex offshore turbines operate, thus contributing to impact assessments for potential offshore wind farms. This study will also reaffirm the accuracy of the Galion’s 2nd generation scanning capabilities, which have been pioneered by SgurrEnergy, in comparison to met mast technology.

The results of this study could have huge implications for the wind energy industry and contribute to the areas of power curve testing, wake modelling, rotor blade design, advanced condition monitoring and wind farm design.

SgurrEnergy’s Gordon Mina, project manager for the offshore measurement campaign, said: “Through Galion Lidar, SgurrEnergy has long been pushing the boundaries of remote sensing application in wind energy, with the aim of providing the industry knowledge and means to achieve successful project delivery. The impact of this pioneering campaign will be significant and immediate, and with such a powerful combination of measurements from the G4000 Galions and AREVA’s heavily instrumented M5000-116 turbine, the potential exists to transform the offshore wind energy industry.”

Jean Huby, CEO of AREVA Wind, said: “This wind energy measurement campaign ties in strategically with our corporate R&D objectives.  The laser beam setup allows us to  perform analysis of three specific areas of interest. First, the campaign will give a detailed overview of the inflowing wind field conditions over the entire rotor area. These data are essential for gust detection and to analyse the effectiveness of our single blade pitch concepts to reduce loads. Secondly, the campaign will be used to study wake effects downstream of the turbine to consider overall impact on the wind farm. Finally, the deployment of the Galion from the lower level platform will give us the unique possibility to carry out power performance assessments, enabling comparison of our turbines at different locations.  We are delighted to cooperate with SgurrEnergy, building  on successful collaboration between our  companies in former projects. Throughout the planning and installation phase, we have been impressed both with the high technical standard and the scientific approach demonstrated by SgurrEnergy, and we look forward with great anticipation to the results of this cooperation.” 

[mappress]

Press release, February 20, 2013; Image: sgurrenergy