Catch the Wind Ltd. (TSX-V: CTW.S) announced that the Wind Energy Institute of Canada (WEICan) has completed its final performance testing of a prototype of the Company’s Vindicator(R) laser wind sensor (LWS).
The company said the Phase II test results demonstrate that the Vindicator(R) LWS is able to successfully control the wind turbine rotor direction in alignment with the oncoming wind for increased energy output. Phase I test results were reported on October 21, 2008.
"Our evaluation project resulted in the demonstration of the concept that a laser-based wind sensor could successfully control the yaw direction of a wind turbine," said Paul Dockrill, Director of Technology, WEICan. "We look forward to working with Catch the Wind as it continues to bring its laser wind sensor technology to market."
Yaw control, which involves aligning a turbine’s blades perpendicular to the oncoming wind, has traditionally been a reactive process using weather vane-like instruments that are located to sense the wind after it has passed through the rotor blades. Catch the Wind’s laser wind sensor, which determines wind speed and direction as it approaches the turbine rotor, makes it possible to proactively position a turbine for optimal alignment. Improving yaw control alignment is a key requirement of the wind energy industry as it results in reduced stress loads and improved energy production output.
Catch the Wind said it believes the WEICan test was the first time in the history of the industry that a laser wind sensor was integrated into an operating wind turbine to report wind speed and direction for turbine control.
In March, Catch the Wind said it sold its first unit to "one of the world’s leading manufacturers of wind turbines," though it did not give the name of the company.
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