From Prototype to Standardization - Five Years of LIDAR Anemometry in the Wind Energy Industry

摘要

Lidars are beginning to play a significant role in wind energy resource assessment. It is probable that as lidars improve in quality and fall in price, they will become much more common. Currently there are two well established lidar profilers on the market and several new models are appearing. The two established systems have been extensively tested by several institutes, including the Riso DTU Test Station at Hovsore.rnWe estimate that the best lidars now measure to within 1.5% of a traceable cup anemometer with an altitude error of less than 5m. With expected improvements both of systems and traceability tests it is likely that the accuracy of a lidar anemometer is sufficient for resource assessment in flat terrain, for example off-shore.rnSeveral lidar challenges remain. In complex terrain, the inhomogeneity of the flow, particularly in the vertical wind speed, can cause errors of up to 10% in the horizontal wind speed reported by the lidar. These errors can hopefully be reduced by the use of 3D flow models. Other lidar challenges lie in reduced power consumption, improved system reliability and reductions in price.