Wind is the basic resource on which the continuing success of a project is hinged. ILR Wind Energy Solution dedicated Wind Resource Department (WRD) has a highly skilled and experienced team, focused on finding the best wind sites in India for the development of wind farms. The objective being to maximize investor returns, by optimizing the micro-sitting of Wind Turbines.
Before preparing the ground, it's important to understand the various stages a wind energy project goes through at ILR Wind Energy Solution
The most critical aspects for the success of investment in the wind energy sector apart from a superior product are:
- Identifying potential sites, and
- Accurately assessing wind resources at the site.
Government agencies publish maps of estimated wind resources for most areas in India, with active wind power development. Wind prospecting begins with these maps. However lack of accuracy and detail, render them useful only for preliminary selection of sites for collecting wind speed data.
To estimate the energy production of a wind site, the WRD performs a wind resource assessment, which comprises activities like: site identification, wind monitoring, wind resource mapping and optimization and micrositing.
IDENTIFICATION OF WIND-RICH SITES
Identification of wind-rich sites requires multiple engineering-cum-science skills. WRD has a strong team of experts with niche skills which enables them to see the normally unseen aspects of wind engineering.
The Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET) from time to time releases wind power density maps of India. These wind power density maps are used for initial selection of sites.
A continuous watch on the dynamics of wind behavior is essential in making certain decisions on the site at the right time. It also helps in deciding the right type of turbine for the site. WRD is equipped with the right tools and staff specialized in data mining, analytical skills and interpretation.
INSTALLATION OF ONSITE MASTS AND WIND DATA MONITORING
Wind masts are installed with required sensors for recording accurate data related to wind and weather.
The mast is equipped with Automatic Data Logging System. We collect cross-country data from wind masts at heights of 50m - 125m.
Anemometry is used for data collection which summaries:
- Site description
- Data distributions by date, time, wind speed, and wind direction
- Mean, standard deviation and maximum of wind speed at all measurement heights by date, time, and direction
- Mean hourly temperature data
- Monthly and cumulative wind roses
- Wind direction frequency distribution
- Correlations of wind speeds at all measurement heights, etc.
After monitoring, the core data is summarized according to the requirement
WIND DATA ANALYSIS
Using state of art software, the WRD can produce graphical reports characterizing the statistics of wind data, including wind shear patterns, daily and seasonal patterns, wind roses, wind power density, and turbulence intensity.
WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
Wind resource mapping and assessment is critical for a given site to decide the optimized placement of turbines resulting in maximum wind farm output.
For an accurate wind resource mapping it is important to ensure the accuracy of the data, which is fed into the software. ILR Wind Energy Solution carries out extensive field surveys, using latest GIS techniques backed by latest satellite images to get accurate information of the site.
The accuracy of terrain, roughness, wind data, will decide the accuracy of the wind resource map prepared by the program.
MICROSITING & PRODUCTION ESTIMATION
Beyond having a good site and a good wind turbine, it is important to ensure that turbines are put at the right places, to extract the maximum generation out of the wind farm.
ILR Wind Energy Solution uses the latest optimization tools widely used by the wind experts across the globe, which carries out several thousand iterations to arrive at the most optimal micrositing for the site. We ensure the maximum returns without compromising the life time of the turbine for our customers from their wind farm.
These tools can take into account varied parameters like topographical variations, variation in wind intensities, different turbine configurations, local issues, noise levels, shadow and flicker issues, etc. The tool works out the best turbine array within the given boundary conditions / limitations and ensures high generation levels.
TURBINE SUITABILITY STUDY & LOAD ANALYSIS
Wind turbines operate in environmental conditions over which no control can be exercised. Therefore, the turbines have to be designed such that they will work without damaging themselves or their environment. Wind turbines are designed and validated by accredited certification bodies to withstand weather conditions that can be quite harsh. The advanced calculations take into account possible extreme wind speeds (Ve50 - extreme wind speed - 3 second gust with a return period of 50 years) and turbulence intensities which has an influence on the fatigue life of the blade and other critical components. Wind turbine design standards fix overall design parameters such as extreme winds, average wind speeds, turbulence intensities, inflow angles that the turbine is expected to withstand over its service life - which is generally taken as 20 years.
As per IEC 61400-1 there are classes of wind conditions to which a turbine could be designed. Considering the fact that there will be a need to have some flexibility in this, the standard allows a special class to which the turbine could be designed. Under this, the designer can define his own wind conditions to which the design will conform. The wind speeds are so chosen that they are best suited for Indian wind conditions. The extreme wind (3 second gust) is so chosen that in most of the sites where wind farming is taken up the 50 year return period gusts do not exceed the limit to which the turbine is designed. Keeping in view possible turbulent conditions, the turbine has been designed to highest class of turbulence intensity. This makes the model perform the best among the turbines available without compromising the safety and integrity of the turbine.
Within the wind farm, there will be variations in the flow conditions that each turbine has to face. ILR Wind Energy Solution uses advanced tools to check the compliance with the specific class to which the turbine is designed. Some of the factors are extreme wind speed, local turbulence intensity and its impact on loads, inflow angle, power law index and many other parameters that will impact the loads on the turbine. A thorough check is made of all critical parameters for each turbine location before the location is released for construction.
If certain locations in the wind farm do not meet the requirements in spite of higher generation, the machine location is shifted slightly so that safety of turbine is not compromised, nor is there a penalty to generation. But beyond a limit, if the location is not suitable, it would be dropped. With this approach ILR Wind Energy Solution ensures that wind turbines will perform to their best level.
