WindCal2.0

WindCal2.0 represents the start of the second generation wind speed calibrations. The project will develop and demonstrate a new method for calibrating nacelle-mounted lidars, which are used to verify many modern wind turbines performance. The method will be much more accurate and significantly faster than the method it replaces.
WindCal2.0 has two main technical components:

1) Building a highly accurate, lidar-based, wind speed sensor that provides the wind speed reference in the calibration. This is based on a flywheel calibration method recently developed in another EUDP project.
2) Automating the calibration process by using a modern, robot-like motion device.
This innovation allows:
  a. an automatic measurement of the angles between the lidar laser beams
  b. switching quickly between the beams during the calibration.

To make this new method accepted across the wind industry, the project team includes skilled and influential experts and IEC 61400-50-3 standardization body members. Important deliverables will be ‘standards ready’ procedures that can be slotted into the next standard revision. The project will seek to engage fans and sceptics through: a technical review body, active participation in conferences and workshops (including the influential IEA Task 32), and dissemination through journal articles and videos.