Renewable Energy Installer February 2015 | Page 16

Opinion
“The grid is being asked to do a job it simply wasn’t built for” Tim Hickman, Evo Energy P36
Performance testing for medium wind turbines
Brian Davidson, writing for the European Energy Centre, examines more
affordable performance testing procedures for medium scale developments
hen it comes to wind turbine developments, size matters. At the top end of the scale, an
initial outlay of around £25M could buy a modest 10-turbine onshore wind farm. However,
you would want to make sure that your turbines were performing as expected in order to
safeguard your expected returns. That is exactly what the IEC61400-12-1 standard is for – to
provide an objective procedure for measuring turbine performance that is recognised by manufacturers,
developers and investors alike.
The practicalities of the test can be quite onerous, however, and depending on the wind regime at the
site it can take months. The associated costs typically put performance testing beyond the reach of single
turbine developments.
While certification schemes might provide sufficient confidence for installations up to 50 kW, the
financial incentives are very attractive for midrange developments up to 500 kW – and it is precisely these
developments that struggle to afford performance tests.
Fortunately a new edition of IEC61400-12-1 currently in preparation will include several measures
to reduce the time needed to collect the required amount of data, thus lowering the costs. One of the
changes allows for the use of remote sensing devices such as LiDAR as a partial replacement for tall
masts. Once they are in common use, the way could be open for even more lightweight testing procedures in the future and with them further
service opportunities for appropriately qualified companies.
W
To learn more about renewable energy and energy efficiency through learning courses visit www.EUenergycentre.org
Talking point
Liz MacFarlane explains why things are all change for Zenex Solar
s soon as the Zenex Christmas
tree is taken down, we start to
focus on Ecobuild and this year
promises to be a particularly
exciting show.
There has been a major change to the
Zenex Solar infrastructure and I hope to be
able to tell you all more at the event. In the
main it will mean we can bring even better
customer service and delivery, improved value
for money, and a wider range of products. As
the solar market continues to flourish and our
customers go from strength to strength, then
Zenex has developed to make life even easier
for them.
One big difference will be our new online
design and ordering portal. We’ll have staff
on hand at Ecobuild to register you there and
then, and to enter you in to a prize draw with
some amazing prizes including VIP tickets
A
16 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
courtesy of JA Solar to join me on the finish
line of the Tour de France in Paris.
We’ll also be launching our new Samsung
complete domestic battery storage solution,
with a special show price. Our experts will be
on hand to make battery storage simple and
saleable.
And of course our exciting JA Solar
with SolarEdge embedded smart module will
continue to make waves as a game-changing
product for all our installer customers.
So, if you didn’t already have a reason
to visit Ecobuild, you do now! You’ll be
pleased to know we’ve moved out of the
Renewables Hall and back in to the Solar Hall,
further demonstrating our commitment and
recognised specialism in PV.
I hope you’ll come and see me and my
team on stand S6160.