Advances in Lidar Turbulence Intensity and Data Recovery
Accurate turbulence intensity (TI) and high data availability have long been the two weak points of stand-alone lidar campaigns. TI directly drives turbine loads and site suitability, yet lidar measurements historically diverged from trusted cup anemometers. At the same time, low-aerosol conditions, fog and precipitation have limited how much usable data wind lidars could recover, especially at modern hub and tip heights. New physics-based reconstruction and deep learning availability algorithms for WindCube vertical profiling lidar now address both challenges. WindCube Pure TI reconstructs cup-equivalent TI from 1Hz line-of-sight data, while the Availability Booster recovers valid measurements that previously sat below traditional carrier-to-noise ratio thresholds without inflating uncertainty. Validated across dozens of sites and systems and now accepted by a major turbine OEM for site suitability, these techniques are reshaping how developers design campaigns in complex terrain and low-aerosol environments.
By Romain Guillaume, Senior Product Manager, Vaisala Energy and Environment, France
Wind resource campaigns at modern sites increasingly rely on lidar for flexibility, height coverage, and permitting advantages, but two questions have constrained its wider use as a primary or stand-alone solution: can lidar turbulence intensity (TI) replace mast measurements and can availability remain high where aerosols are scarce?
