Vestas has introduced a new anti-icing solution and ice assessment tool to maximize wind turbine production in cold climates.
The trademarked Vestas Anti-Icing System is based on electro-thermal heating elements embedded in the laminate directly below the blade’s surface. The control system includes different operational modes to create an optimal heating level – increasing effectiveness and minimizing energy consumption. This results in fast and targeted anti-icing action tailored to a specific situation, says Vestas.
The Anti-Icing System is designed to operate in both rotation and standstill, thereby being applicable for low and high severity of ice, Vestas notes.
In most common icing conditions, the Vestas Anti-Icing System ensures a minimum of 90% production retention, improving a business case certainty by reducing the lost production factor, the company adds.
“Vestas Anti-Icing System significantly increases the potential for wind production in many cold climate locations where the risk of icing has constrained the otherwise excellent wind resources,” says Brian Daugbjerg Nielsen, senior product manager for Vestas Product Management.
In addition to the Vestas Anti-Icing System, the company has introduced the trademarked Vestas Ice Assessment, using metrological models and algorithms to ensure an accurate and precise ice assessment down to turbine level.
