ECN Approves Mitsubishi Electric’s Compact Wind Lidar

The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has conducted tests to validate and subsequently approve Mitsubishi Electric’s compact wind lidar as complying with European wind measurement standards.

The lidar (portmanteau of “light” and “radar”) is a remote sensing apparatus that projects a laser beam and then evaluates the reflected light to measure wind speed.

Meteorological masts, which are used conventionally to assess local wind prior to constructing a wind farm, only measure wind at fixed points. Also, the growing size of commercial turbines is requiring increasingly taller masts, which is contributing to higher construction costs for meteorological masts.

Mitsubishi Electric’s lidar, which uses a laser beam safe for human eyes, can measure wind remotely at multiple altitudes for accurate assessment and prediction of wind-turbine power generation. It also eliminates the need for costly meteorological masts.

The Compact Wind Lidar features improved environmental tolerance for diverse operation. It has an increased tolerance to extreme environmental conditions, including water resistance to IP67 and temperatures down to -20 degrees Celsius. Its motion compensation for offshore use supports floating wind turbines.

Mitsubishi Electric’s lidar has a reduced power consumption and small profile for easy operation.

Its data error is less than 1% in comparison to standard IEC cup anemometer. The device complies with lidar specifications for NORSEWInD, a large European project on offshore wind atlas. Data availability during operation is above 95% (accepted by ECN as reasonable).

Mitsubishi Electric will enter the global lidar market by launching commercial sales of its compact wind lidar this June.