Portland, Ore.-based Iberdrola Renewables has ordered a MERLIN XS2530e avian radar system for post construction avian monitoring for the Penascal wind farm in Kenedy County, Texas.
The system will be integrated with the wind farm supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to provide operational remote control, real-time monitoring of bird activity and automated avian risk mitigation.
The system will use Panama City, Fla.-based DeTect's MERLIN SCADA wind farm avian radar software, which allows the MERLIN unit to operate as an early-warning system, detecting approaching bird movements at levels and under conditions that pose mortality risk, automatically activating mitigation responses by the wind farm up to and including temporarily idling of select or all turbines.
MERLIN is a self-contained, fully mobile, automated, advanced ornithological radar system that includes specialized bird and bat radar detection and tracking software, an on-board operator/equipment cabin, on-board power and a data/communications uplink for unattended 24-7 operation.
SOURCE: DeTect Inc.
