TrueWind - Optimization of cup anemometer and wind tunnel calibration

The objectives of the TrueWind project are to upgrade the wind energy sector with the world’s most accurate cup anemometer wind speed measurements for wind resource assessment and power curve measurements. An investigation has shown that decrease in uncertainty of 0.1m/s would provide estimated savings worth around £10 million per year for 25 years for a large offshore wind farm project. With new lidar technology for wind tunnel calibration and an optimized cup anemometer, the measurement accuracy for cup anemometer measurements is expected to be improved with more than one percent. TrueWind will contribute to three significant commercial exploitations and a technological achievement:

1. Very short range wind lidar (lidic) calibration capability will be installed in a wind tunnel, and studies on tunnel boundary and turbulence influence on calibration will reduce calibration uncertainty significantly and increase market share of the wind tunnel company.
2. Design improvements of a cup anemometer type will ensure world’s best cup classification for wind resource assessment and power performance measurements with a significantly reduced measurement uncertainty and increase the market share of the cup anemometer manufacturer.
3. The lidic wind measurement equipment for wind tunnel applications will supplement LDA measurement technology for wind tunnel measurement and the equipment manufacturer will maintain global leadership in accurate wind tunnel measurement equipment.
4. An open field calibration facility at DTU Risø campus, based on a short range wind scanner with 3 lidic’s, will be used for calibration and to verify and improve a cup anemometer model used for classification. Demonstration of the free field calibration facility will maintain technological leadership in DTU lidar technology.