Wireless data networks for wind farms
28 January 2004
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Information from Satel
Stark against the horizon like giant palms reaching for the sky, their beauty and contribution to the environment are a matter of some discussion. But love them or hate them, wind-driven generators are here to stay and are almost certainly going to become even more pervasive. In fact a great deal of investment in wind farms for the production of electrical power is happening in several European countries as well as in the USA. And every wind farm represents a classic market opportunity for an integrated data network, turnkey project.
By definition, these farms are located in scarcely-populated windy areas such as hills, narrow valleys or cliffs open to the sea; all places where there is little, if any, coverage from the public communication networks.
On the other hand, the nature of the energy produced requires that it cannot be stored but must be used immediately at the very same moment it is generated. Consequently, wind farms are almost always connected to the national grid; normally via a substation. Here the outputs of all the turbines are combined and the voltage is transformed up, the power is metered for accounting purposes and transferred to the grid. Often there are several vendors (the producers of wind power), each with its own substation next to that of the grid. These substations are usually located in remote areas and - for environmentally-aesthetic reasons - are in hidden areas.
As with any advanced technology, each and every turbine needs to be carefully controlled and monitored. Further, there are maintenance teams who have to communicate with each other whilst in the field: typically between the ground and the top of the towers and from each tower to the control room, etc. In some instances it is also necessary to transmit video signals.
In situations where the area of operation is relatively small and the number of towers is limited, a dedicated network with high speed narrow band radio modems such as the Satelline-3AS models from Satel are more than adequate. Where the installation is spread over areas covering many hundreds of kilometres then the delay time introduced by the repetition of the UHF signals is no longer acceptable and more sophisticated networks are required, eg, a long distance microwave network transmitting in realtime with an adequate number of broadcasting points from which utilities up to 20 to 30 km are served.
For more information contact Satel SA, 011 887 2898.
Further reading:
Module combines 5G and NTN support
Quectel Wireless Solutions
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Quectel Wireless Solutions announced the launch of its BG770A-SN ultra-compact 5G-ready satellite communication module, compliant with 3GPP releases 13, 14 and 17.
Read more...
Scalable and secure IoT device onboarding and management
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
EasyPass is an enhancement within Cambium’s cnMaestro platform, aimed at providing local businesses with secure, efficient, and scalable device management, making it ideal for high-demand environments such as educational institutions, retail spaces, and corporate campuses.
Read more...
SIMCom’s A7673X series
Otto Wireless Solutions
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
SIMCom’s A7673X series is a Cat 1 bis module that supports LTE-FDD, with a maximum downlink rate of 10 Mbps and an uplink rate of 5 Mbps.
Read more...
Non-terrestrial network module
Altron Arrow
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Fibocom unveiled its MA510-GL (NTN), a non-terrestrial networks module which is compliant with 3GPP Release 17 standard.
Read more...
Cellular IoT connectivity via satellite
Altron Arrow
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The Telit Cinterion cellular LPWA module will enable satellite data communication using the NB-IoT protocol, without any special hardware changes required for the integration of the cellular module in the customer application.
Read more...
Wireless module supports up to 600 Mbps
iCorp Technologies
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Quectel’s FCU865R is a high-performance Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 LCC package module which can be used for WLAN and Bluetooth connections.
Read more...
Unlocking the future of connectivity
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The battle for the 6 GHz spectrum band is heating up in South Africa, mirroring global debates on the allocation of spectrum between Wi-Fi and cellular operators.
Read more...
Quectel wireless module wins accolade
iCorp Technologies
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The winners of the 2024 IoT Evolution 5G Leadership Award were recently announced, with Quectel walking away with an award for its modules which make 5G features more easily accessible for IoT applications, notably the company’s RG255C-GL.
Read more...
Innovative upgrade process for 2G/3G
Otto Wireless Solutions
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
What is likely to happen during the sunset period for 2G and 3G signals, especially on the back of already near-obsolescence of 2G network equipment, is for the availability of the connectivity mediums to begin to reduce between now and the shutdown date.
Read more...
RFID in aviation: the ultimate solution to baggage mishandling
Osiris Technical Systems
Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Creating a solution that enables real-time tracking of airline baggage on a global scale seems like an impossible task when considering the number of airlines, airports, and passengers that flow through and between them.
Read more...
printer friendly version