Summer School on advanced measuring equipment for wind turbines

Terrestrial and satellite based instruments for remote sensing used in wind energy research include e.g. - LIDAR - SODAR - SAR - Ceilometers LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) shoots laser beams up into the air, where they reach particles and are reflected back to the LIDAR providing information on particles in the atmosphere. The purpose is to measure the so-called boundary layer height, i.e. to determine how high in the atmosphere the boundary layer is at a certain time, which is affecting the operation of the turbine. Furthermore, Wind LIDAR is used to calculate the instantaneous wind speed and wind direction and the turbulence of the air in many heights up through the atmosphere. Read more about Risø’s many applications of LIDAR SODAR (Sonic Detection And Ranging) measures the spread of the emitted sound waves caused by turbulence in the atmosphere. SODAR systems are used to measure wind speeds at different heights above the ground. SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) uses radar beams to map the sea winds. Ceilometers measure the height of the boundary layer in the atmosphere by means of laser beams. The boundary layer is the layer between two air masses with different speeds.

Remote sensing is increasingly used to make wind turbines more efficient and economical. The area is developing rapidly and therefore ideal for a summer school for busy PhD students.

At the five-day summer school 7 - 11 June 2010 at Risø DTU the students will learn everything about the techniques behind remote sensing equipment which has been developed specifically for research in wind energy. Moreover, they will be taught how remote sensing can be used to map wind resources, to measure how much power the wind turbine supplies at certain wind speeds and how to control wind turbines, protecting them from sudden, strong gusts of wind.

The summer school includes practical experiments with remote sensing methods dealing with their advantages and disadvantages.
The participants come from many European countries and also from Canada, the USA and Brazil.

This is the third year for this summer school to take place at Risø. The summer school has been organised by Senior Scientist Charlotte Bay Hasager from the Wind Energy Division.