Low-cost Lidar for Efficient Wind Energy Production

C56-17a-273634Wind energy is becoming one of the least expensive resources for producing electricity when compared to building new plants to provide electricity from nuclear, coal, oil or gas. According to Forbes, this is true even for unsubsidized wind power plants and indicates that the ever-increasing need for electricity will be fulfilled in part by increasing or expanding land and offshore wind power stations. As with any limited resource, the best strategy is to efficiently extract all the available energy to reduce production cost and environmental impact. One method for improving the efficiency of wind turbines is to provide real-time control of the turbine to correct for YAW and blade error such that there is a more productive interaction with the wind field. Real-time control can be provided using 3D lidar mounted on the turbine to measure and characterize the approaching wind field. This data is used by the turbine to adjust to the incoming wind and optimize its energy production. If the lidar provides enough resolution across the wind field, it can also be used to detect damaging turbulence allowing the turbine to minimize its interaction and thus reduce repair and maintenance costs. For this type of real time control to be fully deployed, the cost of 3D wind lidar and its maintenance needs to substantially come down. This proposal describes a method for reducing unit cost and maintenance of nacelle-mounted 3D lidar systems by using a unique non-mechanical scanning technology, which simplifies the lidar’s optical system without compromising lidar performance. This scanning technology is currently being developed for lidar systems used in autonomous cars to reduce cost and improve reliability.