Presentations

Abstract

Measuring turbulence with (ground-based vertically profiling) wind lidar systems is not a new challenge but has been discussed in the wind community and industry for many years or even decades. New developments and possible solutions have been reported both by academics and the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in terms of new data processing algorithms and/or adjusted lidar hardware. But how good are these solutions, how do different approaches compare, and are the results good enough for the intended application in the wind industry? We have tested six lidar profilers from five different OEMs in an extensive onshore comparison experiment with a heavily equipped 200-m meteorological (met) mast as reference. All devices were trialled for a 4-month campaign period, and were thus exposed to identical environmental conditions. For the reconstruction of turbulence intensity (TI) data, we apply both the standard software provided by the OEM and advanced algorithms that are described in the mostly academic literature. Our results do not just allow us to compare the performance of the tested devices – which basically cover all profiling lidar technologies that are currently available on the market – but also inform us about the general capacity of ground-based vertically profiling lidar technology to provide sufficiently accurate TI data to the wind industry.