Industries & Applications
Optimising wind turbine efficiency
Gill and DC21: Enhancing wind turbine performance with reliable sensor technology
Background
According to the Global Wind Energy Council’s 2024 Global Wind report, a total of 117GW of wind power was installed in 2023, representing a 50% year-on-year increase on 2022. Additionally, 54 countries across all continents built new wind power capacity in the same year.
DC21 Group is a leading service provider specialising in the maintenance, upgrade and repair of Endurance Wind Turbines. Its mission is to enhance turbine performance and longevity by providing cost-effective solutions tailored to their customers’ needs.
Challenge
The existing mechanical wind sensors on these turbines were prone to frequent failures, leading to inefficient operation and costly annual repairs for turbine owners.
Gill was approached to provide a more reliable alternative anemometer that could be seamlessly integrated with minimal downtime, and calibrated to match the existing specifications.
Given the harsh and unpredictable weather conditions in the UK, including freezing rain, a heated sensor was essential to ensure uninterrupted turbine operation.
Solution
Gill and DC21 Group collaborated extensively to develop a seamless integration process and conduct on-site trials. The heated WindSonic M, ultrasonic anemometer, was selected as the most cost-effective and reliable solution, providing uninterrupted accurate wind speed measurements particularly during freezing rain events, as demonstrated in the graph below.
Unlike the previous mechanical sensors, which struggled in extreme weather conditions and misreported wind speeds, the WindSonic M continued to operate accurately in adverse conditions. The WindSonic ultrasonic technology, measures wind speed and direction with no moving parts, requiring minimum maintenance and ensuring long-term reliability and durability.
Recommended wind sensors for wind turbine control...
Gill WindSonic is a low-cost 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer, providing wind speed (0-60m/s) and direction data in a robust housing. This anemometer has no moving parts, offering maintenance-free operation in a wide range of applications.