Vaisala says Reliance on met towers put wind energy developers at a commercial disadvantage.

Major wind energy firms are rapidly expanding their use of remote sensing across their project portfolios, ending a three-decade reliance on meteorological (met) towers. To stay competitive, wind developers and operators must invest in redefining their measurement practices or risk falling behind the pack. Developers and operators that consolidate their use of the technology will realize the commercial benefits of cutting assessment times, reducing development costs, improving asset performance and unlocking a greater understanding of the wind resource.

This is the assessment of Vaisala, a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement, following the publication of Remote Sensing Revolution: Why remote sensing will become the new standard for wind development, financing and operations.

This report, which couples Vaisala's own market analysis with perspectives from leading wind energy developers, operators, financiers and consultants, illustrates how independent R&D and validation undertaken in the field is setting the pace for industry adoption of mobile remote sensing units. These researcher- and engineer- led initiatives have highlighted the financial benefits of a switch to remote sensing, and forced financial and technical institutions to reconsider the universe of data they accept for funding.

"The market is reaching a tipping point," said Pascal Storck, Director of Renewable Energy at Vaisala. "While published international standards for wind measurement may still lag behind the reality of what is being undertaken on the ground by developers and operators globally, conversations with our contributors make it clear that those who fail to take advantage of state-of-the-art remote sensing technology and expertise will soon find themselves at a significant disadvantage."