Global provider of wind energy services to wind farm developers, owners, investors and others UL-Dewi South Africa, which is part of US-based Underwriters Laboratories (UL), will exhibit at this year’s Windaba.

Having participated in the Windaba for the past two years, the company points out that Windaba provides the opportunity to attend very interesting sessions regarding industry challenges and the overall development in the South African renewable-energy market.

“We are presenting the complete UL-Dewi wind energy service portfolio at Windaba, particularly the services that are relevant for wind farm developers, owners and investors,” says UL-Dewi site leader for France and regional development: South & East Europe and Africa Pauline Levée.

Located at booth 71, UL-Dewi will present a case study regarding the optimisation of wind farm performance by maximising the use of supervisory control and data acquisition and nacelle-mounted on-site light detection and ranging technology (LiDAR).

This presentation will be part of Breakaway 5 – Optimising Wind Farm Operations – to take place on Wednesday, November 2, at 16:00 in exhibition hall 4A.

LiDAR is an optical remote- sensing technique that measures vertical and horizontal wind speeds and the wind direction based on laser signals backscattered by particles in the atmosphere. UL-Dewi implements this high-quality technology to provide wind farm developers, operators, owners and investors, as well as manufacturers, with wind measurement during project development, energy yield assessment (EYA) integrating the LiDAR data in the wind resource assessment, power curve verification and LiDAR verification against met masts.

Levée explains that lengthy administrative approval procedures that are normally required for a mast erection can be avoided using LiDAR technology. This means that no building permits are required, owing to easier transportation and installation of the LiDAR device, which can be installed on a trailer and therefore be easily moved.

Also, the technology can lower overall project risks by providing additional valuable information. For example, it can be used to measure the wind speed in tall hub heights, and the wind shear over the rotor and at several locations at the wind farm. It is especially valuable for projects with tall hub heights, for large-size projects requiring several measurement locations or for locations where no measurement mast can be erected.

Further, UL-Dewi offers comprehensive EYA services employing LiDAR technology during the preconstruction stage. This includes the long-term correction of the on-site available data, wind flow modelling for onshore and offshore projects, wind farm efficiency calculation and calculation of the expected energy yield.