Technical Guidelines

Status: February 2008

Contents

o       General

o       Ordering

o       FGW Conformity

General

The preparation of these Technical Guidelines for Wind Turbines (known, since 1998, as FGW Guidelines) began in 1992 with the objective of presenting measuring methods allowing determination of reliable and comparable data for wind turbines (WTs) based on state-of-the-art technology. The measurements from these three fields - power curve, noise emissions and electrical properties - should serve as the foundation for assessment of wind turbines, e.g. in permit issues, when assessing grid connection options or for reliable yield calculations.

The guidelines of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which have been drawn up since the 1980s, allow a wide scope for the measurements and evaluations. On the other hand, the Technical Guidelines are supposed to create the conditions (via further specifications) for making the measurement results comparable, irrespective of who performs them.

Measurements in accordance with the Technical Guidelines can be carried out by all qualified measuring institutes. A test report covering the measurements must be compiled; the principal results of which can be summarised in a test report excerpt applying the specifications provided in this guideline. However, it must be noted that the agency requested to recognise the measurements may place further demands on the measuring institution, besides the specifications described in these Technical Guidelines.

The following Technical Guidelines are available from the Fördergesellschaft Windenergie und andere Erneuerbare Energien:

• Part 1    Determining the Noise Emission Values (n.a.; available in German only)
• Part 2    Determining the Power Performance and Standardised Energy Yields (n.a.)
• Part 3    Determining the Electrical Properties - Power Quality (EMC) (preview; newest Revision 21 available in English only)
• Part 4    Determining the Electrical Properties - Power Plant Behaviour (preview; newest Revision 5 available in English only)
• Part 5    Determining and applying the Reference Yield - (n.a.; available in German only)
• Part 6    Determination of the Wind Potential  and Energy Yields (preview)
• Part 7    Maintenance of Wind Farms - (n.a.; available in German only)
• Part8   Certification of the Electrical Characteristics of Power Generating Units and Systems in the Medium-, Highand Highest-voltage Grids (preview; newest Revision 3 available in English only)
  

  The following table shows which revision of the individual Technical Guidelines is presently valid (printed in bold):

Ordering Technical Guidelines

The Technical Guidelines for Wind Turbines are available from the Fördergesellschaft Windenergie e.V. Parts 1 to 7 are sent as

1. Hard copy by post and
2. PDF file by E-mail.

The following prices apply to the individual parts as from 01.01.2006: 

The prices do not include VAT. Postal charges are added for postal delivery. Payment is due within one week after receipt of the invoice.

Pay attention to the following when ordering:

• Technical Guidelines can be ordered by E-mail, fax or letter

• VAT-number required for ordering from EU countries

• Please use the order form provided

• Please send your order to the following address:

FGW Conformity

Independent measuring laboratories can emphasise the quality of their work by the use of a conformity seal. The seal is applied at the bottom of the test report (or excerpt from the test report). Relevant characteristics and details that the seal shows are:

1. The name of the relevant testing area
2. The FGW logo
3. The last year of validity

An example design of a conformity seal for the power curve testing area is shown below:

Testing laboratories that wish to show the conformity seal must fulfil the following requirements:

Requirements as from 1.1.2006

Independent testing laboratories that fulfil the conditions for FGW conformity are listed in the table below. Here, the maximum period of validity of FGW conformity is assigned to each testing laboratory for the corresponding testing area: