A 27-megawatt wind farm supplies clean energy to more than 27,000 households in the Port of Moerdijk area. The 120-meter-high wind turbines were built by Nordex and are operated by Vattenfall, a European green energy company.

In addition to generating clean energy, the local officials realized the turbine towers could also serve as a great location to host an IoT network that provides key sensor data to the busy port 120 meters below.

The Kerlink Wirnet iStations are piggyback on wind turbines, receiving sensor data and information and securely transferring it to users via the IoT network. In addition to monitoring air quality, including CO2 emissions, sensors installed across the area are used for monitoring water levels and open or closed bridges and gates, which helps traffic move efficiently and reduces vehicle emissions.

That’s very useful information for government agencies, businesses and even families that are spread across a 2,000 km squared radial area.

Kerlink’s outdoor gateways are being powered with green wind energy from the turbines. This is very useful as the units will be out of reach for battery replacements. Remy de Jong Sr. of SkyLab BV, which installed the network, said in a news release that the advantage of the height is that the signal is stronger and reaches further. “With these great results, we expect to expand the public Internet of Things into the wind industry, for example for on- and off-shore wind turbines.

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In addition, the industrial-grade IoT network will be available near the port for shipping, rail, and other companies, as well as municipalities, government agencies, and individuals, at low cost. The wind-powered outdoor gateways will run entirely on green electricity. 

The project is Kerlink’s second major deployment in the Netherlands. In 2019, it was part of a joint deployment of a LoRaWAN private IoT network at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, one of the largest international airports in Europe. (Image Source: Kerlink, Used With Permission)

John Blyler is a Design News senior editor, covering the electronics and advanced manufacturing spaces. With a BS in Engineering Physics and an MS in Electrical Engineering, he has years of hardware-software-network systems experience as an editor and engineer within the advanced manufacturing, IoT and semiconductor industries. John has co-authored books related to system engineering and electronics for IEEE, Wiley, and Elsevier.