WindEurope TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP 2021 Participation Report
WindEurope, an organization that promotes the use of wind power in Europe, holds a workshop once a year calledWindEurope TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP " This year's event was held online, bringing together many people involved in wind power generation for presentations and discussions.
What is being talked about and debated in Europe, the forefront of wind power generation? Members of Relatec who participated in the workshop will report on the event in two parts.
Trends in wind surveys have changed
-What kind of event is this workshop?
(I.e. This event is derived from "WindEurope," a conference and exhibition on wind power generation held in Europe. People involved in wind condition surveys and offshore wind power from Europe and other countries around the world gather to discuss the topic.
For example, we hold discussions and give presentations focusing on the practical application of wind power generation. It doesn't end with the presentation, but rather there is a feeling that all participants are trying to deepen their understanding together.
Europe is ahead in offshore wind power technology, and there is a lot of information available here that is not available in Japan. I participated in the workshop with the hope that by learning about what is currently being done in Europe, I can utilize this knowledge in the services I provide in Japan.
Due to the COVID-2021 pandemic, the event was held online in XNUMX, but some Relatec members have traveled to Europe to participate in the event in the past.
--It's a place where you can directly experience European technology.
Konagaya That's right. In addition, you can see the changes in trends in wind surveys. For example, when I participated about five years ago, there were a lot of presentations about floating riders, but this time it was hardly discussed at all.
 | Floating Rider A vertical Doppler lidar is installed on a floating structure on the ocean and measures winds in the sky using a laser. |
This shows that floating riders have become a fairly mature technology in Europe.
Meanwhile, in Japan, floating lidar is still in the verification stage before it can be put to practical use. We are currently investigating questions such as "How accurate can it be when used in Japanese waters?" and "Can floating lidar measure turbulence intensity with a high degree of accuracy?" In that sense, I felt the difference in the progress of the markets.
Improving accuracy by using three scanning lidars
Mito One of the presentations that caught my eye at this workshop was a verification method in which three scanning lidars were used instead of the usual one to measure.
 | Scanning Lidar A device that can observe the atmosphere by emitting a laser beam and receiving backscattering from particles suspended in the atmosphere. It can be installed on the coast and measure wind conditions at sea by emitting a laser toward the ocean. |
The scanning lidar moves its head and shines a laser to measure wind conditions in the area the laser passes through.
However, a single scanning lidar cannot measure wind perpendicular to the line of sight of the laser (the direction in which the laser is emitted), and it has been found that this reduces the accuracy of measuring "wind turbulence," which is necessary for wind turbine design.
A method developed to solve this problem is "dual scanning lidar."
 | Dual Scanning Lidar This method involves placing two scanning lidars and illuminating the same point from different positions, making it possible to measure accurate wind speed, direction, and wind turbulence at the measurement site. |
This is a technology that has recently been adopted in Japan. However, two lasers alone cannot capture the wind in the vertical direction. By increasing the number of lasers to three, it is possible to measure wind in three dimensions. The presentation examined the angle between the three lasers and their measurement accuracy, which was very interesting.
Konagaya Regarding the use of three scanning lidars, attempts to use them on land were being verified. Although scanning lidars are basically observation instruments designed for measurements on the ocean, there was a presentation that proposed the benefits of using them on land.
For example, when observing wind conditions on top of a mountain, it is difficult to set up a mast and vertical lidar deep in the mountains, but with a scanning lidar, you can measure by sending out a laser from a distance.
If we can measure with three devices, we can also handle the vertical component of wind direction, making it possible to measure accurately even in complex terrain like Japan. I was surprised when I heard the presentation because this is a method that has not yet been discussed in Japan.
Attention on the evolution of analysis and simulation technology to correct lidar
--What kind of presentations were given regarding simulations?
Mito There was a presentation that examined correction methods for vertical lidar.
 | Vertical Lidar A laser is shone into the sky and the wind passing across a horizontal plane at each altitude is captured. |
Vertical lidar is a remote sensing instrument that measures wind by shining a laser into the sky.
In principle, the assumption is that the wind blows uniformly in the horizontal direction. When observing with a vertical lidar in a location with complex topography, such as a mountainous region, it is difficult to assume that the wind is uniform in the horizontal direction because the wind blows along the topography, and the measurement accuracy decreases.
The presentation introduced a correction method using simulation to address these issues.
There was also a very detailed presentation on simulations for evaluating power generation. It is important to estimate the amount of power generated by wind power generation. It is necessary to know the exact amount of power generated, not only when building a new power plant, but also to operate existing power plants efficiently.
Verification of such correction technologies and simulation of power generation volume have not been conducted much in Japan yet, and I think this is a challenge for the future.
-Why isn't this done in Japan?
Misaki To carry out research and development into simulations, actual measurement data is necessary, but Japan does not have a wealth of data to begin with. In that sense, I think that Europe, where wind power generation is becoming more and more practical, has an environment that is conducive to development.