Comparing different nacelle lidar measurement principles – what is their impact on the reconstructed parameters?

Upwind looking Nacelle mounted lidars (NML) are a relatively straightforward technology to measure the wind approaching the rotor of a wind turbine and therefore is used more and more for e.g. power performance testing (PPT) applications. Two different technologies are mainly used: Continuous Wave (CW) and pulsed lidar. This study compares the two technologies and highlights advantages and shortcomings. Therefore, two different industry relevant NML have been installed at the Testfeld Bremerhaven (BHV) as representatives. Intermediate and reconstructed values from the devices are compared against reference measurements.