Remote sensing devices are supplanting traditional meteorological (met) towers across much of the global wind industry, but these more-efficient technologies face “ongoing reluctance” from financiers, according to a new report.

Many of the world’s top wind operators have quietly taken to using portable, ground-based Sonic Detection and Ranging (SoDAR) and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems across their project portfolios, ending the industry’s three-decade reliance on met towers, says the report from Vaisala, the Finnish environmental-measurement company.