Remote sensing used for power curves

Abstract

: Power curve measurement for large wind turbines requires takinginto account more parameters than only the wind speed at hub height.Based on results from aerodynamic simulations, an equivalent windspeed taking the wind shear into account was defined and found toreduce the power standard deviation in the power curve significantly.Two LiDARs and a SoDAR are used to measure the wind profile in frontof a wind turbine. These profiles are used to calculate the equivalentwind speed. The comparison of the power curves obtained with thethree instruments to the traditional power curve, obtained usinga cup anemometer measurement, confirms the results obtained fromthe simulations. Using LiDAR profiles reduces the error in powercurve measurement, when these are used as relative instrument togetherwith a cup anemometer. Results from the SoDAR do not show such promisingresults, probably because of noisy measurements resulting in distortedprofiles.