Brief Report

5^th Special International Training Course on

"Wind Resource Assessment and Wind Farm Planning"

held during 1^st - 24^th March 2023

The SDT Division has successfully conducted the 5th Special International Training Course on "Wind Resource Assessment and Wind Farm Planning" during 01^st to 24^th March 2023, sponsored by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India under ITEC programme. A total of 28 participants attended the course from 10 ITEC countries, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo and Uzbekistan.

The course started with Inaugural function on 01^st March 2023, where the Course Coordinator, Dr. P. Kanagavel, Director & Head, SDT & IM Division, NIWE delivered the Welcome Address and Shri. S. A. Mathew, Director and Head, Certification Division, NIWE delivered the Inaugural address and inaugurated the course.

During the 24 day course, 23 classroom lectures and 11 practical classes were scheduled apart from study visits to Wind Monitoring Station, wind farm and wind Turbine manufacturing factory. The course content of the training was handled by Scientists and Engineers of NIWE, who have years of experience in the field.

The course started with briefing about Wind Turbine technology aspects and detailed deliberation on various characteristics of Wind Resource Assessment, Wind Resource Assessment techniques, Site Selection for Wind Monitoring Stations (WMS), Installation, Instrumentation and Commissioning of WMS, Met Mast and Modern Measurement Techniques including measurement using remote sensing instruments (SODAR & LiDAR), Data Collection, Analytics and Processing, Software Tools used for Wind data Analysis, Design and Layout of Wind Farms, Wind Resource Mapping and Forecasting of Wind Energy Production.

The participants were taken to the training facilities of M/s. Vestas Wind Technology India Pvt. Ltd., Ammapettai, which provided valuable insights into the various components and its finer points in the installation and maintenance of wind turbine. The simulator method of demonstration gave a comprehensive view of the layout and equipment positioning of a wind turbine. The visit to the prototype installation, which had most of the components of a wind turbine was equally impressive. The presentation given before this was well structured and delivered in a clear and concise manner making it very easy for the participants to understand the complexities in the manufacturing of a wind turbine.

The participants enjoyed the practical sessions by visiting the facilities at NIWE.

The participants were also taken for a visit to CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, Taramani where they were initially shown the Advanced Seismic Testing and Research laboratory (ASTaR). This laboratory is the state-of-the-art facility incorporating all major seismic technologies that involve critical seismic engineering issues. The participants had a deeper understanding of these concepts. The participants were also shown the wind engineering laboratory consisting of a state-of-the-art Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel (BLWT) facility, one of the largest boundary layer wind tunnels available in our country. The participants got an insight about the advancements in technology and the innovations being done in the wind industry.

The participants were taken to the southern part of Tamil Nadu to visit Wind Turbine Test Station at Kayathar, where they got an exposure on small and large wind turbine testing process apart from visiting Wind Turbine O & M facilities at RS Windtech Engineers Pvt. Ltd., at Aralvoimozhy, Tamil Nadu and Centralized Monitoring Station at Suzlon Global Services Limited, Thattaparai.

The valedictory function was conducted on 24^th March 2023. Dr. P. Kanagavel, Course Coordinator enlightened the gathering with the course summary by highlighting the activities of 24 days of the training. Also the feedback given by the participants was summarized and consolidated. The toppers in the assessment conducted were also displayed during the presentation. Thereafter the participants were asked to share their views about the training conducted. Some of the training participants shared their feedbacks and expressed extreme happiness in which the training was conducted and had also quoted that the knowledge attained in the training course would be shared in their field of work. They had also well commented about the hospitality shown by everyone at NIWE, adding that the organizing team had done excellent job, by which all the participants had a smooth and enjoyable stay at Chennai.

Dr. P. Kanagavel, Director & Head, SDT & IM Division, NIWE distributed the course certificates to all the participants during the Valedictory function.

The course structure and organization of the training was highly appreciated by the participants. The participants were very much satisfied by the quality of lectures and hospitality they found in NIWE, Chennai, India.

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