26 June 2020: Recent industry study by RES (Renewable Energy Systems) finds Lidar to be ‘faster’ at wind measurements than met masts presenting an opportunity to restart stalled wind projects safely and quickly.
Embracing this opportunity, New Zealand engineering consultancy Energy3 has confirmed the immediate recovery of four wind development projects in New Zealand and Australia through almost instantaneous deployments of remote sensing Lidar device ZX 300, even with the presence of COVID-19 restrictions in each country.
Energy3 Services Ltd. has remained active in Lidar deployments and associated remote power supply provision throughout various levels of the ‘lockdown’. The most recent deployments of ZX 300 have taken place in the North Island of New Zealand, and in NSW, Australia. Challenges were presented with the inability to travel regionally within both New Zealand and Australia however, with suitable planning, remote management and support, both Lidar deployments could be completed safely and on schedule.
“Lidars present the only solution for wind monitoring campaigns for deployment over this time – met mast work simply cannot not be undertaken in these situations. Lidars are quick to install without the need for intensive labour or heavy equipment components” commented Thomas Cameron, Founding Partner at Energy3. “Prompt turnaround and short lead-times from Lidar OEM ‘ZX Lidars’ means systems can be deployed within a matter of weeks from the time of order.”
“Energy3 have since deployed two further systems in June in NZ and Australia. The company remains open for Lidar business and would like to offer timely support to continue monitoring your important wind development projects.”
Lidars can be delivered from a range of hubs across the world within just 2 weeks realising the wind industry’s need to restart any wind projects stalled or delayed due to the current pandemic. As recently reported by RES Technical Director Peter Stuart “Lidars are the future of bankable wind measurements as they are better, cheaper, faster and safer than traditional met masts.”
ZX Lidars provides vertical and horizontal profiling wind Lidar to accurately measure wind conditions remotely and ahead of their installed position. These accurate, independent wind measurements are a cornerstone in the development, construction and operation of wind farms globally.
About ZX Lidars (formerly ZephIR Lidar)
ZX Lidars provides industry-leading wind lidar products, ZX 300, ZX 300M and ZX TM for wind energy and meteorological applications. These Lidars deliver accurate wind measurements in both onshore and offshore applications at measurement heights / ranges across the full swept area of the blades of modern wind turbines, and beyond. With more than 10 million hours of operation in the field and over 1000 deployments (and counting), ZX Lidars has pioneered the use of Lidar in the wind industry. The company is proud of the many world firsts it has achieved with customers including: upwind measurements from a turbine nacelle, turbine wake studies, offshore deployments of both fixed and floating wind lidar, an industry-accepted validation process, re-financing and re-powering of a wind farm, successful demonstration of measurement accuracy in a wind tunnel and total wind project financing from a lidar without need for a met mast. To find out more visit: www.zxlidars.com