In 1970, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson envisioned protecting earth’s resources for a sustainable environment with the establishment of Earth Day. This revolutionary commencement would advocate for a viable future by the means of environmental protection, education, and advocacy.

To celebrate, we reflect on the many environmental advancements that have developed over time, more specifically within the clean wind energy industry.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, wind energy provides more than 10% of total electricity generation in 16 states, and more than 30% in Kansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma. Overall, wind energy supplied more than 8% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2020, with an expected increase in the next eight years.

Wind power systems continue to grow throughout the country as the demand for renewable energy rises. Wind turbines are additionally soaring in record sizes to maximize productivity, with the average rotor diameter of turbines at 379 feet, up 141 percent within the last 20 years. As the wind turbines increase in size and efficiency, it is critical to monitor and analyze their operational output and structural foundation.

Canary Systems is proud to be a leading provider of wind turbine monitoring solutions, offering some of the most comprehensive monitoring hardware and software in the industry. For example, instrumentation such as strain gauges and tilt meters are installed. Then, using the MLWeb software platform, the data files are collected from the instrumentation to provide values for subsequent engineering analysis where technical evaluations of the stresses, loads, wind speed, direction, among other values are assessed in order to maximize operational efficiency and detect potential risk factors.

The data collected plays a key role in protecting the wind turbine structure, surrounding communities, and contributes significantly to the future of renewable energy.

For more information or to read more about our wind turbine monitoring projects, click below: