Deutsche Windguard Opens Up Complex Wind Sites for Lidar Measurements
Varel, Germany - Deutsche Windguard has started the new year 2021 with the introduction of a new solution for the standalone use of wind lidar ZX 300. The new development promises accurate measurement results even for complex terrain.
ZX CFS application enables lidar deployment in complex terrain
The platform-based new "ZX Complex Flow Solver" (ZX CFS) is the result of a joint development between Deutsche Windguard and wind engineering company ZephyScience and was supported by lidar system provider ZX Lidars. The ZX CFS solution is based entirely on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The system identifies, quantifies and resolves the relative differences between lidar and cup anemometer measurements witnessed in complex terrain, Deutsche Windguard said about the new development. The platform solution was supported by funding from the EU's Horizon 2020 program. The new ZX CFS solution was unveiled in mid-December 2020 at an industry webinar hosted by ZX Lidars, Deutsche Windguard and ZephyScience with nearly 1,000 registrants.
"While stand-alone lidar measurements in flat terrain have already had a high acceptance in the past, we see the particular challenges of stand-alone measurements in complex terrain well addressed and appropriately treated with the ZX CFS application", said Johannes Cordes, wind and data analyst in Deutsche Windguard's Wind Resource Assessment team. " The design and structure of this service pro-vides the best available solution for bankable wind resource and energy yield assessment based on stand-alone lidar in complex terrain," Cordes added.
Conversion factors compensate for differences compared to measurements with measurement towers
In complex, non-benign terrain, the assumption of homogeneous flow conditions within the measurement volume introduces differences between lidar and cup anemometer. The Complex Flow Solver algorithm developed by Deutsche Windguard is optimized for ZX Lidars’ wind field reconstruction. Incorporating results from a high-resolution CFD model, it derives a set of con-version factors. Applied to the volume-based wind data from Continuous Wave Lidar ZX 300, which samples 50 measurements points per second, these conversion factors produce single point measurements equivalent to those of a cup anemometer installed at the same location, according to Deutsche Windguard. Cloud computing provides fast, transparent and accurate results.
Uncertainties associated to inhomogeneous flow conditions within the measurement volume according to IEC 61400-12-1 Ed. 2 (2017) L.4.5 can thus be reduced significantly. This widens the usability of ZX 300 wind lidar standalone deployments for wind resource assessments in com-plex terrain with no additional onsite met mast.
Source: IWR Online, 12 Jan 2021
