Get in touch
ZX Lidars
Want to know more?

Get in touch to find out more about our Lidars or services.


+44 (0) 1531 651 000
ZX Lidars Willow End Blackmore Park Rd Malvern WR13 6BD You may find it useful to use the What 3 Word codes to reach the following office locations: Willow End Reception - CABINET.ASKED.CLERICS ZX Lidars Goods In - CUSTODIAN.VOUCHER.PRIVATELY
Back to top
 
14/09/21 -

RES, ZX Lidars and KK Wind Solutions develop product to upgrade performance of existing wind farms

ReLACS: taking the strain off your operational wind assets for increased production and lifetime extension. A cutting-edge retrofit technology comprising Lidar Assisted Turbine Control and Wind Farm Control for existing wind farms.

RES, the world’s leading renewable energy company, alongside ZX Lidars and KK Wind Solutions, has developed a Retrofit Lidar Assisted wind farm Control System (ReLACS) which will improve the performance of existing wind farms.

The product will be trialled by TRIG, the British investment trust dedicated to investing in renewable assets, at several of its onshore wind farms across the UK, starting with Altahullion Wind Farm in Northern Ireland.

The benefits of ReLACS, which combines the expertise of the three partners in their respective fields, include modernising the wind turbine controllers and site monitoring processes and resulting in increased Annual Energy Production (AEP) whilst also reducing turbine loads, allowing for increased life expectancy. By extending the life of existing assets, there is an added sustainability benefit in keeping wind turbines operable for longer and delaying the need to replace them.

The product consists of three distinct upgrades to each wind turbine on site:

  1. Turbine controller retrofit – retrofitting state of the art controllers onto existing operating models enables access to modern algorithms that can optimise turbine performance, reduce loads and enable advanced control and monitoring systems to be added
  2. Wind Farm Control, Wake Steering – yawing the turbine deflects the wind flow and provides overall energy gain
  3. Lidar Assisted Turbine Control (LAC) – Turbine-mounted Lidar can preview wind speeds and turbulence ahead of the turbine, providing optimised feedback that can ultimately reduce turbine loads

Peter Stuart, Project Director at RES, commented: “Given the importance of wind power to meeting climate targets, we are proud to have supported in the development of a product that can upgrade the performance of existing wind farms. RES’ Wind Farm Control technology provides overall energy gain for turbines and optimises performance, which alongside the capabilities delivered by our partners will help to maximise the performance and lifetime of existing operating turbines.”

Alex Woodward, Commercial Director at ZX Lidars, said of the product: “This product is an exciting development for optimising existing wind farms. The Lidar capability of ReLACS provided by ZX Lidars not only optimises feedback that can reduce turbine loads, but it can also measure and validate and benchmark turbine performance. Lidars on every turbine will become commonplace and we are excited to have helped drive this ground-breaking project for the industry with RES and KK Wind Solutions.”

Kim Wichmann-Hansen, Chief Service Officer at KK Wind Solutions, added: Retrofitting existing wind farms with the latest technology in order to increase their life expectancy is both an economical and sustainable decision. Wind power technology has come a long way, and the KK WTC6 model that is retrofitted through ReLACS gives access to state-of-the-art algorithms that deliver multiple benefits for operators of existing operating wind turbines – from rotor imbalance cancellation to optimum yaw control.”

Chris Sweetman, TRIG Operations Director at RES, said of the announcement: “TRIG is proud to be piloting this innovative product at some of our wind farms across the UK, helping to both optimise performance and extend the asset life. This is an exciting development that helps to boost wind power’s contribution within the energy mix as well as reduce the cost of production, demonstrating the benefits of an ongoing innovation within the portfolio.”

ENDS
For more information, contact:
Rachael Bolton
rachael.bolton@res-group.com

Notes to editors:

About RES

RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company active in onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage, transmission and distribution. At the forefront of the industry for 39 years, RES has delivered more than 18GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 6GW worldwide for a large client base.  Understanding the unique needs of corporate clients, RES has secured 1.5GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) enabling access to energy at the lowest cost. RES employs more than 3,000 people and is active in 10 countries.

About TRIG

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (“TRIG”) is a member of the FTSE 250. It is a closed-ended investment company which invests in renewable energy infrastructure and related technologies, with a portfolio of wind farms, solar PV parks and energy storage assets in the UK, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Since its listing in 2013, TRIG has invested over £2.5bn in renewable energy generation projects. TRIG owns stakes in 79 assets across Europe, including 5 construction assets, with a total net capacity of 1,941MW. TRIG is managed by InfraRed Capital Partners (“InfraRed”), as Investment Manager, and Renewable Energy Systems Ltd (“RES”), as Operations Manager. TRIG’s Purpose is to ‘To generate sustainable returns from a diversified portfolio of renewables infrastructure that contribute towards a zero-carbon future.’

About KK Wind Solutions

Since our founders developed one of the world’s first control systems for a wind turbine in the 1970s, KK Wind Solutions has been a leader in the wind power industry. Our hardware and software solutions are used in more than 65% of offshore wind turbines worldwide. The capabilities of KK Wind Solutions span development of state-of-the-art technologies, high quality lean manufacturing, flexible aftermarket solutions and advanced turbine monitoring services. Today, KK Wind Solutions is a part of the A.P. Moller Maersk Group as we continue to lead the green energy transition.

Find The Right Lidar for you

We can help you find the right Lidar for your needs by answering a few questions

Find The Right Lidar for you

What do you need wind data for?

Image Caption 1

Site Assessment

Image Caption 2

Operational Measurements

Image Caption 3

Other

Find The Right Lidar for you

Where do you need to gather data?

Offshore

Onshore

Both onshore and offshore

Find The Right Lidar for you

How long do you need this data for?

<1

PERFECT FOR:

Small scale projects

Temporary events

Less than 1 year

1-2

PERFECT FOR:

Small scale projects

Temporary events

1-2 years

3+

PERFECT FOR:

Long term projects

Operational measurements

3 years +

5

Our Recommendation
ZX Lidars - ZX Measurement Services

Learn more
Our Recommendation
ZX Lidars - ZXTM

Validate your wind turbine performance and reach financial close with nacelle based Lidar Power Performance Testing. Optimise asset performance with operational power curve and yaw measurements. Develop wind farm Lidar control strategies with wake steering and load control.

Power Performance Measurements and Testing to IEC standards including IEC 61400-50-3:2022

Accepted by all major turbine OEMs

Unique measurements of wakes and complex flow

True wind shear and wind veer measurements across the whole rotor

Learn more
Our Recommendation
ZX Lidars - ZX300M

Reduce your offshore wind farm project and financial uncertainty by measuring wind characteristics higher than a met mast and by mobilising measurements across a whole site with wind Lidar. Integrated in to all major Floating Buoy platforms.

Wind resource assessment and measurements offshore

Responsible for 95%+ of all new offshore wind measurements globally

£150bn of finance invested in clean energy from ZX 300M data

10-300m range - the widest range available of any Lidar

Learn more
Our Recommendation
ZX Lidars - ZX300

Reduce your onshore wind project and financial uncertainty by measuring wind characteristics higher than a met mast and by mobilising measurements across a whole site with wind Lidar. Be flexible within your planning applications by using a low visual impact, low height device.

Wind resource assessment and measurements onshore

Bankable standalone wind data in simple and complex terrain

Extreme environments, proven operation for 10 years

10-300m range - the widest range available of any Lidar

Learn more

Thank you for your interest in our products.

It looks like we need more information to be able to help you.

If you click on the button below and leave your information, one of our support team will get in touch to help you find the right product.

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience. We use necessary cookies to make sure that our website works. We’d also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. By clicking “Allow All”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
These cookies are required for basic functionalities such as accessing secure areas of the website, remembering previous actions and facilitating the proper display of the website. Necessary cookies are often exempt from requiring user consent as they do not collect personal data and are crucial for the website to perform its core functions.
A “preferences” cookie is used to remember user preferences and settings on a website. These cookies enhance the user experience by allowing the website to remember choices such as language preferences, font size, layout customization, and other similar settings. Preference cookies are not strictly necessary for the basic functioning of the website but contribute to a more personalised and convenient browsing experience for users.
A “statistics” cookie typically refers to cookies that are used to collect anonymous data about how visitors interact with a website. These cookies help website owners understand how users navigate their site, which pages are most frequently visited, how long users spend on each page, and similar metrics. The data collected by statistics cookies is aggregated and anonymized, meaning it does not contain personally identifiable information (PII).
Marketing cookies are used to track user behaviour across websites, allowing advertisers to deliver targeted advertisements based on the user’s interests and preferences. These cookies collect data such as browsing history and interactions with ads to create user profiles. While essential for effective online advertising, obtaining user consent is crucial to comply with privacy regulations.