A data-driven approach to the design and implementation of retrofit lidar assisted control systems

Presentation at the Wind Energy Science Conference 2023 as part of the Mini Symposium "IEA Wind Task 52: Lidar-Assisted Control, Turbulence Estimation, and Digitalization

We report a successful and safe demonstration of load reduction using lidar assisted control (LAC) on an active stall turbine on a commercial wind farm. The project dimensions and commercial requirements were a test bed for concepts aimed at reducing the barriers to commercial LAC deployment: Utilisation of a data-driven design approach, Use of a simplified lidar prototype. Baseline and lidar-assisted load measurements were aligned with design simulation predictions across a range of operational conditions. The prototype wind lidar was stable and flexible with performance matching or exceeding expectations