Manassas, Va.-based Catch the Wind Ltd.'s Vindicator laser wind sensor (LWS) will be used by the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) as part of a trial program designed to evaluate how using forward measurement of wind speed and direction to optimally align wind turbines with the approaching wind can reduce the off-axis stress loads on turbines. Catch the Wind believes that this reduction in off-axis loading will result in reduced maintenance costs and extended component life spans.
‘Testing the Vindicator in an operating wind field will allow us to showcase its full capabilities and demonstrate how the proper alignment of a wind turbine can deliver significant benefits to wind farm operators, as well as to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) responsible for a turbine's warranty and related repair costs,’ says Phil Rogers, president and CEO of Catch the Wind.
The trial program will take place at the NPPD's Ainsworth Wind Energy Facility. The facility has 36 large wind turbines, each capable of generating up to 1.65 MW of energy, for a combined total of 59.4 MW.
Catch the Wind has also made its first commercial sale of its Vindicator LWS sensor to AXYS Technologies, a provider of environmental data acquisition, processing and telemetry systems for marine and terrestrial applications.
AXYS will install the Vindicator LWS on one of its data-collection buoys to determine the viability of wind energy production in offshore environments through the accurate measurement of wind speed and direction.
AXYS and Catch the Wind have also entered into an OEM distribution agreement pursuant to which AXYS is granted a license to combine and integrate the Vindicator LWS with custom AXYS salt/fresh water fixed and floating platforms and sell the bundled products worldwide.
SOURCE: Catch the Wind Ltd.
