High-Resolution Digital Photography for Offshore Aerial Bird Surveys
As a result of the rapid growth in the offshore wind sector, the demand for spatial environmental data is constantly increasing. Traditional visual aerial survey methods suffer from reliability, safety and data quality drawbacks. These can be overcome by new digital methods, and in this article we discuss the application of these new technologies to offshore aerial bird and mammal surveys.
By Stuart C. Clough, Director of Remote Sensing, APEM, UK
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As a result of the rapid growth in the offshore wind sector, the demand for spatial environmental data is constantly increasing. Traditional visual aerial survey methods suffer from reliability, safety and data quality drawbacks. These can be overcome by new digital methods, and in this article we discuss the application of these new technologies to offshore aerial bird and mammal surveys.By Stuart C. Clough, Director of Remote Sensing, APEM, UK
Layout tools attempt to identify the best layout of wind turbines on a land or offshore area according to energy capture. They model free stream wind flowing through an area with sited turbines and calculate the energy output of successive turbines while taking wake effects and turbulence intensities into account. A key component of such tools is the ‘optimiser’ algorithm used to efficiently search through a modest proportion of candidate layouts to identify the best one. This article discusses earlier bio-inspired algorithms, and then the CMA-ES algorithm, an evolutionary algorithm that performs stochastic sampling optimisation by mimicking fundamental aspects of the neo-Darwinian evolutionary process.
Consolidation within the wind sector has been much discussed over the past 12–18 months due to weakening demand and ongoing price pressure. However, with global demand down and a manufacturing overcapacity already existing, the consolidation of Tier 2/3 wind OEMs into Tier 1 global competitors is not likely unless there are other factors at play. These other factors include leveraging an intellectual property portfolio, gaining strategic access to a market, gaining a manufacturing footprint in an underserved market, or providing some level of vertical integration. In this article, Philip Totaro considers the wind turbine market and OEM outlook for the next 12–18 months, both globally and for different regions of the world.
Making accurate wind measurements in difficult site conditions can be challenging, but the development of the wind energy industry has meant that high quality wind data has become an economic necessity. Multi-million investment decisions are being based on bankable datasets. Over the years mechanical anemometers have become the industry standard for wind speed measurement despite their non-ideal performance in difficult conditions. But with a better understanding of ultrasonic wind sensor functionality, its trade-offs and advantages, perhaps there is now a better way to get these important measurements.
An international movement against wind energy is maturing – across the globe today there exist over 1,000 anti-wind groups. The origin of the opposition is, in some instances, fossil fuel and nuclear backed interest groups and, at other times, local community members with genuine concern. Regardless of the source, this burgeoning trend must be dealt with effectively, transparently and compassionately. The alternative: once-trusted company names and brands become vilified, inspiring antagonism and encouraging locals to unify against wind energy projects. This article is the introduction to a series of topical columns which will dig into the causes of anti-wind sentiment and the maturing of opposition against wind energy development, including groups, popular arguments and their proposed countermeasures, as well as an introduction to the spectrum of solutions wind energy professionals can tap to quell what may otherwise become an unmanageable storm of hostility.
