The Energy research Centre for the Netherlands (ECN), which develops knowledge and technology for the transition to sustainable energy management, has approved the ZephIR 300 wind lidar system for use as a stand-alone wind resource assessment.
The Dutch institute has completed a 12-month offshore measurement campaign with the ZephIR 300 system, as part of a four-year campaign within the ‘Meteorological Research Wind at Sea’ project.
The ZephIR was compared against the 108m Met Mast Ijmuiden (MMIJM) at the ECN Wind Turbine test facility EWTW.
Zephir Ltd said the availability of its system during a 60-week continuous period was measured at over 98%.
In its initial conclusion, ECN has considered ZephIR as a valid stand-alone system for wind resource assessments, particularly given the wind energy industry’s tendency towards higher hub heights.
ZephIR features continuous wave lidar technology which allows for very low measurements down to just 10m from installed level, essential on offshore platforms.
ECN wind energy coordinator Henk Oostrum highlighted the capability of ZephIR in providing a ten minute average wind speed and direction data at all heights well above traditional tall mast heights.
"Correlation is excellent to our IEC compliant mast and site. ZephIR can therefore be considered, in our initial opinion, to be used in a stand-alone application for wind resource measurements," Oostrum added.
Zephir managing director Ian Locker commented: "This is an exciting development in the ZephIR program – we never imagined that we would actually be operating within a met mast structure."
Image: the ZephIR wind lidar system provides a ten minute average wind speed and direction data at all heights. Photo: courtesy of Zephir.
