Small wind systems: Technical issues

Session C14 | Day 3, Thur 4 Nov, 13.15-14.30pm

Session Summary
The UK leads the world in the development of industrial best practice for small wind systems. This conference programme will focus on key areas of industrial development such as standardised as well as cutting edge approaches to site assessment, resource estimation, project financing.

• Chair: David Sharman, Director, Ampair
• Eduardo Estelles, CEO, Logic Energy
• Rachel Westwood, PhD student, Keele University
• John Moore, Project Financing, Windcrop

	Chair: David Sharman, Director, Ampair
	Speaker: Eduardo Estelles, CEO, Logic Energy Best Practice Site Assessment for Small Wind Systems Site assessment for small wind systems is a critically important area that is often overlooked and under analysed. Every small wind system represents a significant investment and due diligence is a vital part of the planning process, but with a variety of methods how can organisations be sure that their assessment is accurate? Which tools achieve the highest levels of accuracy and what methods are valid? Biography: After over 10 years in the industry, Eduardo took his experience from his native Spain and applied it to developing online monitoring systems in the UK. With the rise of the internet, Eduardo saw an opportunity to use his extensive knowledge to create live monitoring systems that provided information for the user in real time. Working closely with some of the biggest and most innovative organisations in the renewable energy industry, Eduardo developed the Logic Energy system for the global market in order to solve a number of consistent problems in the field. Users all over the world were continually frustrated with inefficient systems, or solutions that were too technical or too difficult to understand quickly. Eduardo has produced a solution built on years of research and developed specifically for the benefit of the end user. Logic Energy provides live remote monitoring systems for the renewable energy sector. With customers all over the world our systems have been developed with simplicity and value for money, to enable users to efficiently monitor installations remotely and cost effectively. When working with renewable technology we truly believe it is vital to monitor, manage and control all installations with live data. As real time remote monitoring specialists, we have data comparing different situations with numerous sensors, equipment and machines and have the fundamental knowledge and experience to offer constructive advice and opinions to drive the industry forward.
	Speaker: Rachel Westwood, PhD student, Keele University Vibration monitoring and modelling of small wind turbines Situated at Eskdalemuir, near Langholm, in the Scottish Borders, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty International Monitoring System monitors for all types of nuclear explosions; the site constitutes the UK’s seismological contribution to the Treaty. Previous Keele studies concluded that micro-seismic noise is propagated through the ground from large wind turbines, as the rotation of the blades excite resonant modes of the tower. These vibrations have the potential to adversely impact the detection capabilities of the Eskdalemuir array and limits were set on the permissible aggregate vibrations. As this limit is now approaching, the MOD has placed a ban on all new wind turbines within a 50km radius of the site, seriously impacting the deployment of both large and small turbines with c 2.5GW of new capacity on hold. At the time, the terms of reference of the previous study did not consider small or medium wind turbines. As government policy actively encourages micro-generation schemes, a research project has been established at Keele University to investigate what steps can be taken to permit small-scale wind development, whilst maintaining the detection capabilities at Eskdalemuir. The project involves the modelling and monitoring of vibrations from a range of small wind turbines. This enables us to establish whether the same algorithms for calculating the micro-seismic noise level applicable to the large turbines can be appropriately applied to small systems. This is essential for future small and medium wind turbine developments in the area. We will present some initial findings from the project, comparing results from different manufactures of small and medium wind turbines.
	Speaker: John Moore, Project Financing, Windcrop