Wind Energy

A Northwest utility utilizes MeasureTek system to perform site monitoring

Problem Statement:
A large electric power utility in the Pacific Northwest was considering the development of sites to generate wind energy and needed wind modeling data for forecasting.  Critical to the decision making process was reliable and highly detailed data about the strength, direction and consistency of the wind crossing the large area.  The customer needed 10 meter wind and weather data for the  assessment and forecasting.  There were five desired data locations spread over 2000 square miles.  They wanted this data accessible in their NW regional headquarters located across the state from the actual site.  They needed continuous access to data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with updates no longer than 10-minutes apart, and there was no electrical power available at any of the remote locations.

Solution Description:
MeasureTek provided a system that was comprised of five field stations, each with a Campbell Scientific data logger monitoring air temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed and direction sensors.  One of the stations was configured as a base station and contained a wireless cellular modem to permit remote access to system data.  The remote field stations were separated by distances of 10 to 45 miles, so communications between the base station and the field stations was accomplished using high power spread spectrum radios.  All stations were equipped with a single 40W solar panel, except for the base and repeater, which use two 40 W solar panels.

Result:
The system has been transferring data at 10 minute intervals 24/7 since 2003.  With only annual routine maintenance visits, the system has reliable supplied the utility with the data needed for operations and wind/weather forecasting.

For more information on this or other applications, please contact MeasureTek at (541) 924-8988 or visit our website at www.measuretek.com.