Geovane Wind Turbine

Highly accurate and consistent True North live data. Directly to you, the wind farm operator. Incorrect north alignment of wind turbines can lead to erroneous performance assessment of wind turbines as well as suboptimal wind sector management. We have a unique solution that now gives you, the wind farm operator, access to the live True North orientation of your individual wind turbines!

More information here

Benefits

• Eliminates the need for expensive third-party alignment services
• Resolves issues related to alignment degradation over time
• Establishes an identical True North reference point for all wind turbines
• Forms the new basis for accurate wind sector management
• Permits improved wake control
• Provides highly improved turbine-to-turbine performance assessment
• Permits improved shadow curtailment
• Easy installation and straightforward integration

Turbine misalignment

Wind turbine misalignment and alignment degradation during the operational lifetime of a wind turbine are both common issues that wind farm operators battle with. Since the individual turbines does not have a common reference point, wind farm operators try to solve this issue by performing periodic alignment of wind turbines (either via manual onsite alignment or by using third-party services). However, given the nature of this misalignment, these periodic alignment corrections can be an expensive and unfortunately only temporary solution to the problem.

Background

In the wind energy industry, there is a clear need for more accurate orientation of wind direction sensors to precisely determine the wind direction uncertainty during the development of a wind farm. Since 2017, we have catered some of this need and successfully manufactured and supplied Geovanes for precision alignment of wind vanes for wind resource assessment as well as power performance studies.

During that time period we have also received numerous requests from the industry to adapt the Geovane for it to be used on wind turbines, more precisely in wind plant optimization (wake control and sector management). We have listened to these requests and now have the Geovane ready for mounting on wind turbines. We have called it Geovane WT.

Improved Sector Management

Wind turbine manufacturers and wind farm operators can now take full advantage of the Geovanes unique ability to precisely determine True North using the position of the Sun. The Geovanes patented design is equipped with high-resolution optoelectronic sensors composed of light-sensing pixels and is installed in the back of the turbine nacelle, together with the rest of the sensors that control the turbine. This offers a state-of-the-art approach for referencing wind turbines with respect to True North. Precision orientation of the wind turbine´s nacelle with respect to True North presents several advantages for both active wake control (optimal alignment or misalignment angles) as well as advanced sector management.

Alignment on the nacelle
For the installation and correct alignment with the main turbine axis the Geovane WT is supplied with an alignment collar as well as an optional laser alignment tool.