Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Wind energy projects offer high potential for economic development in rural and agricultural regions where much of the best wind resource in the United States is located. Barriers to construction of new wind enerby projects are often raised by broadcaters who fear loss of signal coverage due to wind turbines. The technology developed under this research project is designed to enable Broadcast Wind to relieve these barriers by creating models that can show energy developers where turbines can be sited with no or with minimum interference to broadcast reception. The target audiences are: 1.) wind energy developers whose projects may interfere with television and radio broadcasting and 2.) television and radio broadcasters whose signals may potentially be compromised by wind turbines Specific individuals and companies targeted in the project's 2nd year are descsribed in detail in the Dissemination Section. Changes/Problems: Problems were encountered in two of the Work Units. Their nature and how they were overcome is explained: Work Unit 1: Study of Importance to Rural Communities No problems encountered Work Unit 2: Mathematical Model Non-linear signal processing in receivers. No mathematical engineering models exist that completely predict the effect of reflected signals from a wind turbine on reception of the signals by a digital television receiver. Electromagnetic wave propagation and reflection have been characterized mathematically to the point that the relative strengths between the reflected signal from a wind turbine and a direct signal from a transmitter arriving at a receiver (local scatter ratio) can be calculated. But due to the complex and highly nonlinear signal processing done inside a digital receiver these relative signal strengths alone do not tell whether the signal can be decoded into a viewable picture with audible sound. Our approach is to build a signal reception model that combines known mathematics for linear signal propagation and reflection to calculate the local scatter ratio with experimental measurements to calibrate the linear model for non-linear processing in the receiver. Measurements of threshold of visibility and audibility and of multipath response obtained from probes as described in Work Unit 3 will empirically determine scale factor adjustments that account for the non-linear processes in receivers. Over-complexity of model parameters. A key challenge of our approach was how to usefully present the model output in terms of all the parameters relevant to siting of a wind turbine near a transmitter that a broadcaster or turbine investor will need for project feasibility decisions. Our approach was to employ Wolfram Mathematica’s graphical parameter control capability that uses on-screen “sliders” to concisely and efficiently present the parameter inputs and data output results of the model on a single display. Work Unit 3: Measurement Equipment No problems encountered Work Unit 4: Test Site Selection An ideal test site would consist of a single or small number of wind turbines located less than a few kilometers from a television broadcast tower. A large number of turbines could introduce difficulty separating signals reflected from the different turbines. The data acquisition system that was developed to identify all the broadcast towers and wind turbines in the country that are within a specified distance of each other identified two preferred candidate sites: one in Traverse City, Michigan had a single wind turbine close to a low power television tower and one in Shirley Wisconsin had two turbines near a high power transmitter. (The Shirley site was the one used for the Phase I field tests.) Neither candidate test site was available. The turbines at both sites were over ten years old, and obsolete in terms of power capacity. Both had been decommissioned because the cost of maintaining them had become greater than the value of the electrical power they could produce. The Wisconsin turbines had just completed being dismantled at the time of our year 2 test and dismantling of the Michigan turbine had already started at the time of our Phase II field test. To recover from the loss of the two preferred sites we went to a small wind farm in Atlantic City, NJ. The farm consisted of 5 turbines clustered a few miles outside the city where reflections from buildings would not cause problems. There was one television tower with an active transmitter a mile to the North and other active television towers farther away to the South. A half dozen good surrounding measurement locations were isolated from highways where there was little risk of echoes-from automobile and truck traffic. Experiments with the measurement probe indicated that it was capable of separating signals reflected from the five turbines, so the test site was selected. Work Unit 5: Field Tests No problems encountered Work Unit 6: Data analysis No problems encounteredy What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Research results of the USDA’NIFA SBIR program have been disseminated via industry outreach and commercialization. Outreach Outreach begun in the first year of the program continued through the second year. Significant outreach activities in Year 2 include: Web Site Broadcast Wind’s principal activity for industry outreach in Year 2 has been through the web site www.broadcastwind.com, which was created to provide a professional web presence for its business. The site explains the technology that is being developed under this USDA/NIFA-sponsored research contract, services offered, contact information, and a blog spot with frequently updated postings about company activities and industry issues. The web site has brought several inquiries, one of which led to a commercial contract (Dan’s Mountain, below). DWEA In September 2013 Broadcast Wind joined the Distributed Wind Energy Association. We participated in a proposal to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for a consortium to identify methods to improve the competitiveness of US wind energy components and systems. Commercialization Significant commercialization activities in Year 2 include: Dan’s Mountain Wind Force In May 2014 Broadcast Wind received a $28,000 contract from Dan’s Mountain Wind Force, LLC, to perform a study of potential interference to television and FM radio transmissions I the vicinity of a proposed 23-turbine wind farm on Dan’s Mountain in Allegany County, MD. Turbine construction is planned to begin later in 2014. The contract calls for pre and post-construction monitoring of signals. In three population centers near the future site: Frostburg, Midlothian, and Eckhart Mines. The probe in Frostburg monitors FM station signals as well as television station signals. The probes have been operating for over three months, reporting signal strength and other figures of signal merit via the internet to Broadcast Wind’s offices in New Jersey. This is Broadcast Wind’s first commercial application for the probe and data analysis technology developed under the USDA-SBIR project Sinclair Broadcast Group On November 18, 2013, we met with Mark Aitken, Vice President: Advanced Technology, David Amy, CEO, David Bochenek, Chief Accounting Officer, and Paul Nesterovsky, Vice President: Tax Matters, to present a plan for adding wind power to Sinclair’s stations broadly across the country based on the USDA-developed technology. Sinclair owns and operates 167 stations. Not all would be candidates for wind power due to variations in average wind speed and energy policy from state, but if even a share of them were the savings to the group would be substantial. There was interest in the possibility of saving money, but the decision was to wait for federal energy policy to become clearer before making an investment. NYSERDA The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority manages New York’s renewable incentive programs, which are among the most aggressive in the country. On October 15, 2013 we attended a workshop in Albany NY for the introduction of NYSERDA’s, Greenbank financing program, which guarantees loans for renewable energy projects. The On-Site Wind Turbine Incentive Program pays half the cost, up to $400,000) for a wind turbine installed for commercial, residential, government or institutional use. We have had numerous talks with Mark Mayhew, Project Manager: On-Site Wind Turbine Incentive Program, which provides incentive funds to investors in wind turbines with a capacity of 2 MW and less. Eligible recipients include agricultural, commercial, industrial, non-profits, schools and many others. He provided us with preliminary approval for a pilot wind turbine project to demonstration of the USDA-developed technology at a television station in Otisco NY. The project did not obtain other funding needed to proceed United Wind United Wind offers a wind turbine lease program for turbines under 100KW whereby United Wind handles all system design, permitting, construction and maintenance issues and the end user leases the turbine at a rate guaranteed to be less than the cost of purchasing the same amount of electricity from the local utility. We met Tal Mamo, co-founder and head of market development on October 2, 2013 in Cazenovia NY to explore leasing to broadcasters as a means of transitioning the USDA-research results to commercial implementation. Although several broadcasters were contacted, none entered a wind turbine lease. Uncertainty about federal tax incentives was cited as the problem. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The goals were met by breaking the project into six work units. Together the units achieve the Phase II research objectives, yet each provides Broadcast Wind with a distinct tool for commercialization. Work Unit 1: Study of Importance to Rural Communities A survey of residents in 10 states that could effectively utilize wind generated energy for television broadcasting was conducted to assess the importance of local television to rural community satisfaction. Result: Local news was correlated strongly with community attachment and most strongly among donors to public television. Commercialization Significance: For owners of local commercial stations data about viewers’ preference of television for local news will validate that local television is worth investing in even in the digital age. For the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funds for equipment to public broadcasting stations, data about how local television enhances residents’ satisfaction with their rural communities will confirm that investment in wind generation equipment to reduce electricity costs at rural stations supports Public Television’s mission to enhance the public good. Work Unit 2: Mathematical Model A mathematical interference model was created by adapting television radiation equations to a wind turbines pylon and blades. The Input variables are the broadcast frequency, the dimensions of the broadcast tower and wind turbine and distance between them. The user interface provides 3D graphical visualization of the model output and dynamic adjustment of input variables by on-screen sliders. Result: The model shows the strength of the signal reflected from the wind turbine relative to the strength of the direct signal from the transmitter on a terrain map of the broadcaster’s coverage area. The effects of changes to the turbine size and location can be seen immediately, so that a user can rapidly identify configurations that cause minimum interference. Commercialization Significance: The model will be the basis for Broadcast Wind’s unique interference-based wind turbine site design capability. It will give us the tools to enable a broadcaster to adopt locally produced wind power by eliminating the uncertainty of whether it will interfere with reception of his signal. It will also give us the tools to enable a wind energy developer to design the placement of turbines in a wind farm to minimize interference to area broadcasters’ signals and to anticipate the cost of mitigation to viewers whose signals may be impacted. Work Unit 3: Measurement Equipment A remote autonomous probe was developed for unattended long-term measurement and reporting of strength and quality of broadcast signals. Its design uses low-cost consumer-market components, so it is far less expensive than dedicated laboratory equipment, which is normally used to measure broadcast signals. Result: The probe was tested in actual use for several months. It demonstrated simultaneous measurement of signals from multiple transmitters and of reflected signals from multiple wind turbines. It forwarded data from the field to Broadcast Wind’s offices via internet (WiFi) or built-in cell phone. Six probes have been built and used in various field tests. Commercialization Significance: The probes will give Broadcast Wind the Industry’s only cost-effective means to determine and verify actual effects of wind turbines on television and radio signals. Measurement of signal conditions before, during, and after wind turbine construction will give clients verified data for defense against bogus claims of lost or degraded reception. Work Unit 4: Test Site Selection A data acquisition system was developed to identify all the wind turbines (existing and proposed) in the country that are close enough to broadcast towers for potential for signal interference Result: The system plots coordinates of existing and approved wind turbines over 200 feet tall from the FAA’s data base and of licensed broadcast towers from the FCC’s data base on a Google Earth terrain map of the United States and to select those within a specified distance of each other. Google Earth’s capabilities for zoom and rotation, for reporting elevation and bearing, and for graphical measurement of distance enable rapid examination of wind turbine and transmitter sites. Clicking on a turbine or tower reveals expanded information about ownership, registration, etc. No other system is known that can perform all these operations on all turbines and broadcast towers in the country in a unified single package. The data acquisition system was used to select the test site at Atlantic City that was used to gather data to calibrate the interference model. Commercialization Significance: This data base system will give Broadcast Wind a commercialization tool to that will enable thorough and early identification of potential customers (proposed wind farms) and identification those with nearby broadcast signal sources that could be of concern to the developer. Work Unit 5: Field Tests Field tests have been conducted for two purposes: 1) to verify the probe’s design and functionality and 2) to confirm and calibrate the mathematical interference model. Result: All six fabricated probes were first tested locally for design confirmation and verification of functionality by measuring off-air television signals and signals reflected from water towers. The probes’ reliability was confirmed by running them continuously for several weeks spanning periods of varying temperature and humidity. Then their ability to detect reflection from wind turbines was verified at wind farms in Altoona and Waymart Pennsylvania. Finally field tests to confirm and calibrate the model were conducted at a five-turbine wind farm in Atlantic City NJ using signals from four local transmitters of different RF frequencies and six different probe sites in the vicinity of the wind turbines. Commercialization Significance: The field test results will provide assurance to potential television broadcaster clients that Broadcast Wind’s model is a reliable predictor of the interference (or lack thereof) to their signal that they would experience for various turbine and siting choices. As the number of commercial uses of the model increases more data points will be added to strengthen confidence of the model. At this time three probes are in commercial use in the area of a proposed wind farm in Western Maryland continuously relaying received signal data to Broadcast Wind’s offices in New Jersey. Work Unit 6: Data analysis Software applications that run on Broadcast Wind’s computers in New Jersey have been developed to extract useful information from raw data received from remote probes for predicting interference to reception of broadcast television signals due to planned wind turbines. Result: A web accessible dashboard has been developed so results of long term data monitoring can be observed and evaluated as the monitoring is underway. The dash board presents a graph showing the progression over time of five figures of signal merit for each television and radio channel being monitored. Quantities displayed are updated in as new data is received from the probes. Commercialization Significance: The web-accessible dashboard provides Broadcast Wind’s clients with a unique capability to observe the strength and quality of broadcast signals and changes in that performance as they occur as erection of turbines takes place The record of changes in signal quality, before and after turbine construction, will provide clients with unambiguous proof of the nature and magnitude of any impact that their wind turbines have on television signals. This record will constitute unassailable protection against bogus claims of loss of signal
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
INTEREST IN LOCAL NEWS AND ITS EFFECT ON COMMUNITY SATISFACTION AND ATTACHMENT
Stephen G. Sapp, Ph.D.
Sela R. Harcey
Department of Sociology
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
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Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences: Broadcasters and broadcasting engineers, wind energy developers, farmers, and rural businesses, landowners, and communities. Outreach: Iowa Wind energy Association. Joined the Association (date) and released a description of the program in monthly newsletter to members. Iowa Public Television: Presentation to IPTV network President, Molly Phillips and executive staff explaining the objectives and benefits to broadcasters of the program, March 27, 2013. Farm News Magazine. Gave interview to reporter, which was printed in the April 26, 2013 issue of the magazine NY State Energy Research and Development Authority. Introduced Director Mark Mayhew to theprogram and and to its benefits to rural parts of the state. June 2013 Onondaga County Farm Bureau. Presentation to President Harvey Skeel introducing the program and its economic benefits to farmers, May 2, 2013. Sinclair Broadcasting Group: Presentation to CTO Mark Aiken about benefits to broadcasters of on-site wind energy April 17, 2013. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Web site and blog explaining Broadcast Wind's technology, services, activities, economic benefits of wind power to broadcasters, industry news and related issues www.broadcastwind.com Conference presentation to Annual Membership meeting of Iowa Wind Energy Association, Iowa Wind Power 2013, Des Moines, Iowa March 25-27, 2013 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Task 1. Site Selection. Evaluation of the candidate sites will be completed. Remaining issues are related to tower and turbine owners willingness to participate. Task 3. Field Testing. Approximate probe locations will be identified around the turbine at the selected site where they will provide data needed for model verification. Probes will be installed on properties whose owners are willing to permit them. Data will be collected from the remote probes for several weeks and logged at Broadcast wind for analysis. Task 4. Data Analysis. Raw data from the probes will be filtered and reduced to forms that are suitable for input to the model. Task 5. Model Development. The components of the model will be calibrated by fitting them to experimental data from the probes using Wolfram Mathematica software. and they will be integrated into 2-D and 3-D graphical user-interactive visualization representations also using Wolfram Mathematica software. Task 6. Rural Communities. The survey will be disseminated to 1,200 recipients via internet by subcontractor, Survey Sampling, who will also collect the data.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Task 1: Site Selection A software system was developed to compare all the broadcast towers in the country with all the wind turbines and identify those within a specified distance of each other. Four candidate sites have been identified for field tests. Traverse City, MI. A single turbine is located within 1.0 kilometer of several tall radio and TV towers. The multiplicity of towers would allow the low power test transmitter to be located at several heights, angles and distances from the turbine. Woodward, OK.A single turbine is less than .5 Kilometers from a tall FM antenna. The turbine is owned by a trade school, which uses it for student training. Ada, OH. An FM tower and 3 wind turbines are University owned. Another single turbine to the north of the FM tower could serve as an additional data collection point. Fairhaven, MA.One turbine is 100 meters from an FM radio tower. A second turbine is less than 300 meters from the tower. Task 2: Probe Development A probe has been developed for remote unattended measurement of signal interference and transmission of measured interference data from the field to Broadcast Wind’s office in New Jersey for analysis. Measured data from probes placed around a wind turbine will be used to verify the scattering interference model. Six probes have been constructed and tested. Its components are: Antenna. A directional receive antenna will be used at each of the remote test locations. A Digitenna consumer antenna (DUV-S), is a well-constructed high-VHF / UHF (CH 7 – CH 51) combination antenna that is small and allows easy mounting even in tight locations. Downlead Cable. A very low loss type RG-214 coaxialcable carries the signal from the antenna 30’ above ground to the receiver. Bandpass Filter.A single channel 6 MHz bandpass filter protects the probe's receiver from adjacent-channel signals from near by high power transmitters, if any. A small (4.5” x 2” x 1.75”) lightweight (1 lb)LC filter from Tin Lee (CF7 series) was selected, Programmable Attenuator. A programmable attenuator, Vaunix model LDA-102,enables determination of the signal margin at the probe’s receive site by decreasing the signal level in steps tothe threshold of visible or audible errors . 2-Way Splitter. A 2-way splitter, Mini Circuits ZX10-2-12+,enables checking the RF signal level at the input to the DTV receiver for calibration, set up, and trouble-shooting in the field without the need to open the probe’s enclosure. Low Noise Amplifier. A low noise amplifier, Mini Circuits model ZX60-33LN+, compensates for signal loww in the cable and splitter. DTV Receiver. An instrumented DTV receiver, Silicon Dust model HD HomeRun Tech3, DTV receiver provides diagnostic data about the signal strength, error rate, multipath, etc. Computer Controller. A computer, MitxPC model EKIAD2500DLcontrols the programmable attenuator and the instrumented DTV receiver (via an Ethernet port), and gathers data for transmission over the Internet (via cellular modem) to a central data processing location. Enclosure.The probe is contained in a weatherproof PVC enclosure that access to the components for trouble-shooting and calibration. Task 3: Field Test The probe's functionality and reliability were verified by operating it for several continuous weeks at an off-premise location in Cranbury NJ. Signals from local TV stations were received and measured data transmitted to Broadcast Wind for logging and analysis. It operated in ambient temperatures ranging from 9 to 90 degrees Fahrenheitwith data capture and collection reliability exceeding 99.9%. The probe's ability to accurately measure reflected television signals was verified by measuring reflected local TV station signals at several locations around a municipal a water tank. The measured multipath delays consistently matched predicted delay times. The probe's ability to measure reflected television signals from wind turbines was verified at 2 wind farms, one at Altoona PA and one at Waymart PA. The probes demostrated end-to-end operation sending data from the field back to Broadcast Wind, where it was automatically logged for analysis. Task 4: Data Analysis Analyze Data.Data analysis will be done as the field tests are conducted. Task 5: Model Development A mathematical interference model is under development. It combines electromagnetic propagation equations with experimental results of scattering from wind turbines published by the ITU, NASA, and the IEEE. Four components are dealt with: forward and back scattering from the turbine blades and the samefrom the turbine pylon. A data visualization method is under development thatwill integrate all four components into a 2 or 3-dimensional representation with user control of parameters. The four individual components are completed and are ready for integration into a single composite model. Task 6: Rural Communities The sociological objectives are to assess the importance of local broadcasting on rural community attachment and identify key determinants affecting citizen support for the growth of rural transmitters powered by wind turbines. A task kickoff meetings was held held on March 27 in Johnston Iowa at the headquarters of Iowa Public Television (IPTV), the state-wide public broadcast network. The meeting was held with a broadcaster because the purpose of the task is to assess the importance of local broadcasting to rural communities. The outcome of the meeting was a list of topics to explore in a survey, including: programs watched, (e.g. farm news, state and local politics, agriculture business), viewers who vote, viewers who use second devices while watching programs, which programs, which devices are interactive with the programming (PC, iPod, game consoles). A draft Survey has been completed and is awaiting IRB approval from the Iowa State University Human Subjects Committee.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Robert Miller and Dr. Frank Marlowe: Television Broadcasting, A New Market for Distributed Wind; Iowa Wind Power, March 25-27 2013, Iowa Wind Energy Association Annual Membership Meeting.
Web site and blog explaining Broadcast Wind's technology, services, activities, economic benefits of wind power to broadcasters, industry news and related issues www.broadcastwind.com
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