Cet article n’est disponible qu’en allemand et anglais
In Europe, apart from the mountainous regions, wind measurement counts to be a routine task with foreseeable timing and scheduling. This is not the case in Asia: local companies and the weather can always hold some surprises. The following article describes how the Swiss company, New Energy Scout, was able to realize a wind measurement on one of the Perhentian Islands in the north-east of Malaysia for the Malaysian state energy utility TNB – challenged by the local culture and meteorological conditions. It is an example of how European know-how could be successfully applied in Asia- with local companies benefiting from acquiring key skills at the same time.
Malaysia’s power supply
Malaysia’s power supply is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, with over 90% of its production from natural gas and oil. In addition, the electricity market is not liberalized and the state energy supplier TNB is solely responsible for supplying the population with electricity. However, their own fossil energy sources are likely to run out in the next 30 years, so there are government efforts to convert electricity production to renewable energy, notably biomass and hydro power. The power supply from wind energy and PV is likely to be a viable option for the numerous inhabited islands for self-supply by means of island system. Generally speaking, Malaysia is not a very windy country, but wind conditions at some localities on the islands appear to be good enough to produce electricity out of wind energy at a lower cost than conventionally. So far, merely two smaller wind turbines with few hundred kilowatts of power operated on only one of the Perhentian Islands in the north-east of Malaysia, and even these have been out of use for some years due to their age. The TNB has set itself the goal of bringing this site, if it makes economically sense, back into operation with larger and more modern wind energy converters, thus making a substantial contribution to the electricity supply of this island. At the same time, the site serves as a model in building up know-how for wind farm planning.
Building up confidence, interest and knowledge
Knowledge about the potentials, planning and use of wind power is only rudimentary in Malaysia. Therefore, initially it was important to awaken interest in TNB for this technology. This happened in workshops where good examples of wind power use from other South-east Asian countries were presented in particular a practical example from the Philippines. It was also important to realize that there is a certain wind energy potential in Malaysia which has not been used at all so far, and that wind power can complement the targeted energy mix of primarily hydro power and biomass. In order to get an idea of this flourishing segment in Europe, some representatives of the TNB visited the Wind Energy Fair in Hamburg in autumn 2016. They also visited a nearby wind farm with new energy converter types where they received professional guidance from our experts.
All these different elements contributed to TNB’s decision to start planning a first location. Therefore, New Energy Scout (based in Switzerland) was commissioned to carry out a wind measurement on the Perhentian Island, to take over the evaluation of the data and at the same time to work as consultant for future decisions. This order was primarily placed thanks to the fact that a member of the management had been residing in Malaysia for several years. The personal contact between customer and service provider played a very important role in building confidence in the initial phase.
Use and process of a wind measurement
For new wind energy projects, it is advisable to start by determining the wind resources. The international guidelines recommend a minimum of 12 months of wind measurement and to compare them with long-term data from more than one source. Thus, the overall course of a year can be mapped and a long-term forecast of an average wind energy yield can be submitted. This forms the basis for deciding whether the wind turbines can be operated economically, or which type of wind energy converter suits the location best.
A wind measurement is composed of four important components: firstly, a solid steel lattice mast, secondly, filigree wind measurement sensors, which are attached to the mast by means of cantilever arms. Third, it requires a good ground anchorage (e.g. concrete foundation) that must be adapted to the geological conditions, and also the permanent power supply must be ensured. In addition, it requires a considerable number of coordination tasks: defining and ordering the right material, drawing of construction plans, obtaining permits, organizing the logistics by truck and ship and the assemblers for the construction of the mast, also all players have to be instructed and the tasks have to be aligned.
The site on Perhentian Island, a predominantly tourist island, was visited jointly and afterwards New Energy Scout created a wind measurement concept. It describes an optimal proposal for the location, how the measurement can be carried out with the given budget, as well as aspects of access, logistics, time and scheduling.
Cooperation with Malaysian companies
Usually a wind measurement involves several companies: a civil engineering company for the anchorages and ground works, a transporter for the very bulky and heavy material, in this case also by ship from the mainland to the island, assemblers for the construction of the mast elements, the experts for the measuring equipment as well as a « site manager » who coordinates all work steps in terms of time and content. The client’s requirement was that most of the work should be carried out by local companies.
The work layout was therefore designed as follows: The order for the 60m high steel lattice tower was awarded to a local metal construction company from the field of antenna construction. Similarly, local craftsmen were commissioned for the transport, the ground works and the assembly, They were already listed as suppliers of the client.
Due to our know-how and experience, New Energy Scout was entrusted with the selection of the appropriate sensors (wind vane, anemometer, hygrometer and thermometer) and the continuous recording of data in the logger. As the company responsible for the measuring equipment, we had to make sure that during the assembly the sensors were mounted at the correct height and orientation on the mast, and that the logger stores the data correctly and continuously so that it complies with the international standard IEC 61400-12-1.
Since the Malaysian partners were dealing with the first such order specifically for wind energy, a lot of know-how transfer from our part was necessary. For instance, especially the required precision of the coupling pieces to the sensors as well as the careful handling of these or their precise alignment were rather unusual at the beginning. In comparison with the European wind masts, however, the technical documentation of the locally produced mat was surprisingly large.
Challenging monsoon
From the beginning it was clear that the monsoon could severely restrict or even make construction impossible for a few months. Many zones on the east coast of Malaysia suffer floods every year due to heavy rain and wind, and access to the islands is severely hampered, at times even impossible. For wind measurement projects in the Alps it is the onset of winter, the exact day of which nobody can predict, that sets limits to the construction activity. In Asia it is the monsoon season that sets a certain time schedule and pressure.
In the months leading up to the build-up, there were some delays despite the good preparation. The lattice mast was completed later than planned due to delay of the suppliers. As a result, the transport of the elements from the mainland to the island was delayed and was then caught up by the monsoon. Because of the high waves, the island became inaccessible by boat for several weeks. The heavy rains also washed away the pier on the mainland, so t the required load raft could no longer dock.
Also the groundwork for anchoring was postponed due to the climatic adversities during the monsoon months. When they were finally tackled, it was quickly discovered that the soil was less profound than expected, so the dimension of the foundations and the required material needed to be changed again.
In addition, because of the heavy rainfall, the only access road from the jetty on the island up to the location of the wind measurement was transformed into a muddy brook bed. The road had to be repaired by an excavator during the fading monsoon season before the material could be trucked to the site. All these unforeseen difficulties led to several months of delay.
Once the material was in place, the foundation was completed and the « wild weather » was over, progress was relatively fast. The elements were mounted on top of each other by a winch and height climber and the sensors were installed, logged and tested by us.
After a one-month long test phase, the data monitoring was handed over to TNB, who received appropriate training and introduction from us.
Conclusions
From this mission in South-east Asia the following conclusions can be drawn:
- The local presence on site is essential in establishing new business relationships and is often not only much appreciated by the client but also explicitly requested.
- Without the personal presence of the author in Malaysia, this assignment could not have been carried out. The knowledge and trust building only by means of telecommunication would probably not have been sufficient.
- The company’s motto « experts for complex terrain », which had been used to refer to demanding alpine locations, has now been proven in a difficult-to-access east-pacific location
- While n Switzerland the premature onset of winter causes construction sites to slacken, it is the heavy rain or heat periods in this region that delay or even make work impossible. Therefore, time reserves have always to be planned very generously.
- Although involving and training local companies take more time in the initial phase for coordination and know-how transfer, operation and maintenance will cost much less later on. If people are trained locally, they can carry out different tasks independently, like in this case, the regular control of the measuring installations.
Picture credit: New Energy Scout GmbH
Author
Peter Schwer, Company founder and managing director of New Energy Scout
The founder and managing director, Peter Schwer, has 17 years of experience in wind energy, including 5 years as head of foreign projects at a German planner. From 2014- 2017 he lived and worked in Malaysia.
New Energy Scout is an independent service provider for the planning of wind, solar and bio-gas energy plants. The company develops wind farms in several European countries and advises investors worldwide. It is based in Winterthur (ZH, Switzerland) and was founded in 2005.
