Wind Measurements from Arc Scans with Doppler Wind Lidar
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
When defining optimal scanning geometries for scanning lidars for wind energy applications, we found that it is still an active field of research. Our paper evaluates uncertainties associated with arc scan geometries and presents recommendations regarding optimal configurations in the atmospheric boundary layer. The analysis is based on arc scan data from a Doppler wind lidar with one elevation angle and seven azimuth angles spanning 30° and focuses on an estimation of 10-min mean wind speed and direction. When flow is horizontally uniform, this approach can provide accurate wind measurements required for wind resource assessments in part because of its high resampling rate. Retrieved wind velocities at a single range gate exhibit good correlation to data from a sonic anemometer on a nearby meteorological tower, and vertical profiles of horizontal wind speed, though derived from range gates located on a conical surface, match those measured by mast-mounted cup anemometers. Uncertainties in the retrieved wind velocity are related to high turbulent wind fluctuation and an inhomogeneous horizontal wind field. Moreover, the radial velocity variance is found to be a robust measure of the uncertainty of the retrieved wind speed because of its relationship to turbulence properties. It is further shown that the standard error of wind speed estimates can be minimized by increasing the azimuthal range beyond 30° and using five to seven azimuth angles.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Water Technologies Office (EE-4W)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1236155
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5000-61552
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 32, Issue 11; Related Information: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology; ISSN 1520-0426
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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