The choice of the installation point is a key task for the qualification of a good wind site. The activity therefore takes account of the purposes of the measure (wind farm size, representativeness of the measurement, etc.) and is inclusive of the analysis of technical feasibility of the installation (useful spaces, accessibility, type of soil and aspects related to the safety of the intervention).
The activity consists in the presentation to the supply agencies, by a technician affiliate to the professional roll, of a dossier, previously drafted, containing the technical descriptive report of the works to be carried out, the plans with chorography and cadastral framework, the technical design of the mast and a few photo shoots of the standard mast.
Supply (sale of property) or rental (transfer in temporary use) of all the components of a standard wind mast, 15 to 96 m high, which are necessary to detect the speed and direction of wind (support, wind direction and wind speed sensors, data logger). Tecnogaia ensures the perfect operation of the equipment (and the recent calibration for wind speed sensors) even if previoulsy used.
The wind speed sensors are subjected to individual calibration in the wind tunnel at Organizations and/or MEASNET certified Institutions according to the mandatory regulations. It can be carried out at the end of the measurement campaign and at any Customer’s request. The resulting product is the Certificate of calibration.
The installation consists of the preparation of the equipment in laboratory (leased or sold by Tecnogaia or supplied by the Customer), in carrying out a series of performance tests in the laboratory and in situ, on-site transportation of all materials (for sites within off-road), the collection of all relevant information that identifies the composition of the mast. Installation is carried out in accordance with the mandatory regulations, as applicable, by qualified personnel. The activities are carried out according the Legislative Decree No 81/08 and for each installation is prepared a suitable plan of security and risk assessment.
The uninstallation consists in performing an operation check of the instrumentation on site and, subsequently, in the laboratory, in documenting the general conditions of the wind mast, verifying any differences with respect to the installation, removal and packaging of the equipment for future checks and re-use, in the disassembly of the structure and transport to the warehouse of all the materials.
The mast management consists of periodic inspections carried out by trained personnel to perform checks and controls of the mast and in the collection of static memory card and battery change (when required). It is given evidence of such operations on a special sheet which is stored at the headquarters of Tecnogaia. Such sheets will be part of the report of the statistical analysis of data or sent to the Customer, on request. In the case of station with GSM / GPRS system is part of this activity the weekly control of the operation of the med mast as a result of reading data from Tecnogaia’s office.
As part of the commitment to research and develop innovative techniques in the Wind Measurements and Site Characterization maintaining quality standards of reliability and precision, Tecnogaia has developed, in collaboration with the university ‘Politecnico di Milano’, a methodology consisting in using the Sodar technology, a project funded by the Lombardy Region.
Tecnogaia adopts the sodar technology in combination with the traditional wind masts of average height (40-50m), for measuring the wind resource at high heights from the ground.
The application of the sodar technology allows to specify the actual potential energy at the turbine hub height, thereby reducing the uncertainties of the wind measurements and the assessment of expected energy production of a wind farm, with consequent economic benefits for the different “actors” of the wind sector.
