lunes, 14 de enero de 2013


New Danish Research Project To Ensure Cheaper Erection of Wind Turbines


A new research project funded by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation is to develop a method to calculate the exact wind load on wind turbines at new locations.
It should be easier for investors in wind turbines to determine how much load the wind conditions at a given location will put on a wind turbine before it is actually erected. This is the idea behind a new research project, which has now been given funding from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation.


Getting the strength right
The method will ensure better knowledge of wind conditions at specific locations, thereby making it easier to determine what strength the wind turbine should have. This reduces the risk of investment loss, since building too weak a turbine – with repairs to follow – or too strong a turbine – to no avail – is avoided.


When a wind turbine is to be erected, the primary procedure is to ensure that it meets the legal requirements – such as ensuring that it is not a nuisance to any neighbors – and that it can achieve the desired energy production. Only later in the planning stages is it decided what the strength of the wind turbine should be, based on the wind conditions at the given location.

Knowledge saves money
When you take a position on the issue this late in the process, you risk the turbine being strengthened too much or too little. Regardless of the scenario, investors can save money if they have a better basis from which to make thorough studies of the load conditions.


"The vision of the research project is to develop a method that makes it possible to determine the load on the individual wind turbine already at the planning stage, where the location has not yet been fully determined," said research leader and business postdoctoral fellow at Aalborg University, Henrik Stensgaard Toft in a press release from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation.

Method to be used in accredited tool
It is hoped that the method can be a module in the accredited calculation tool WindPro, a software tool used globally in the planning of wind turbine locations.

The Aalborg-based company EMD International is behind the software, and the company also sees good opportunities in the prospect of this new method.

'In addition to increased reliability of the turbine, we expect that our customers will be able to significantly reduce the time spent in the planning of new wind projects," said the leader of the wind energy department at EMD International, Morten Lybech Thøgersen, according to the website of the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation.

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