news

January 2010

Natural Power are pleased to announce a new product in their suite of wind farm monitoring and management tools. ForeSite - a wind farm power output forecasting service. ForeSite leverages the local weather forecasts of meteoblue®, a leading independent meteorological forecaster, who operate their own high resolution models proven to consistently deliver top quality forecasts for any location across five continents. This best-of-breed meteorological forecasting is merged with Natural Power’s industry-leading practical consulting services, bringing knowledge from the ground up to improve the accuracy, accessibility and usefulness of energy forecasts for individual wind farm sites.

ForeSite gives operators precise hourly forecasts of wind potential and energy generation up to 6 days ahead. Operators can access and process the forecasts on a daily or hourly basis – hourly forecasts give the expected instantaneous production of the wind farm from 6 hours up to 6 days ahead as required, whilst daily forecasts give the total expected energy production of the wind farm for the complete day following the forecast date, up to 7 days ahead. Further optional features are the inclusion of planned turbine curtailment or downtimes.

ForeSite brings forecast accuracy to top levels, by combining highly accurate local forecasts with downscaling and inclusion of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) on top of the model described above. Natural Power deploy VENTOS® – the industry leading CFD model – on ForeSite projects to provide improved downscaling based on topography and roughness to reduce learning time and further refine accuracy.

ForeSite compliments Natural Power’s existing technical and management services. In yet another innovation, forecasts are combined with Melogale™, Natural Power’s leading asset management and optimisation service, to improve the accuracy of information provided to the forecast model, and integrates on-the-ground operational information, such as planned downtime, into the power forecasts.

On the successful launch of ForeSite, Oisin Brady, Managing Director at Natural Power France said “With utility companies & independent power producers demanding accurate wind power forecasts Natural Power are pleased to announce the release of ForeSite to meet our client’s needs. We believe our product to be one step ahead of the rest, utilising our VENTOS and Melogale services to improve accuracy and reduce learning time on projects. We have firm plans to further develop the renewable energy applications of ForeSite and are developing innovative and interactive delivery methods. We are already working with clients on their forecasting projects and can help wind farm owners immediately.”

Karl Gutbrod, CEO of meteoblue, welcomed the product launch and exclusive arrangement with Natural Power, commenting “meteoblue have been providing forecasting services to a range of industries for the past three years and we have quickly established ourselves as one of the leading providers. We are delighted to now bring these services to the wind industry, combined with Natural Power’s proven renewable energy consulting expertise, in the form of ForeSite.”

For more information get some foresite@naturalpower.com

or visit www.naturalpower.com/foresite

October 2009

 Leading international renewable energy consultancy, Natural Power announced today the signing of a framework contract with wind farm developer and operator, E.ON Climate & Renewables, for the provision of technical services on mainland Europe including the execution of measurements and wind appraisals.

The contract signing comes after many years of a successful working relation between the two companies and helps create a strategic relationship for moving projects forward both onshore and offshore. To date projects have included the Robin Rigg offshore project and the recently-permitted Camster wind farm.

Natural Power will leverage over 20,000 MW of technical services experience to date to provide E.ON Climate & Renewables with wind appraisals including audit and control of wind measurements, energy yield assessments and layout designs. E.ON also now stands to greatly benefit from the advanced resource methodology Natural Power promotes which includes the industry leading Complex Fluid Dynamic (CFD) service – VENTOS – for assessing complex and forested sites.

Oisin Brady, Director of Natural Power France commented: “Having worked with E.ON for many years now, we are delighted to agree on this framework which will help us both accelerate projects and secure a strategic relationship in years to come.”

Rüdiger Rittner, Head of Origination and Development of E.ON Climate & Renewables Central Europe, welcomed the agreement commenting: “We already benefit greatly from Natural Power’s technical and conscientious approach to wind farm consulting services. This agreement reflects our wish to work on more projects together above and beyond our current activities.”

Earlier this year, E.ON also awarded Natural Power ‘Contractor of the Year’ for their consistently high standards and approach to safety, demonstrating that they are providing world class full life-cycle consulting from technical and development services through to project construction and operation.

September 2009

Leading international renewable energy consultancy, Natural Power, welcomes Jim Adams to their new US office in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Natural Power doors are now officially open for business in the US delivering full cycle consulting services and industry exclusive products such as ZephIR lidar and VENTOS advanced CFD modelling to power producers, financial institutions and other consultancies, mirroring Natural Power’s existing model in Canada, South America and Europe.
 

Adams, formerly VP of Business Development at AWS Truewind, has been involved in the industry since 2001 and was responsible for managing international business development including sales and customer relations, commercializing new products and establishing new offices in new markets. He holds a B.S. degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A in Finance from the University of Albany. He now joins Natural Power as President of US Operations responsible for developing business across the country.

On joining Natural Power, Adams commented “It is with great pleasure that I join Natural Power - the consultancy has already established a strong presence across Canada, South America and Europe both onshore and offshore – I am confident this can also be achieved here in the US. Natural Power's years of hands-on experience in supporting the development, construction and operations of both on and offshore wind farms brings a unique perspective as well as a proven set of tools to support the rapidly growing US market.  We are building a strong local team here in Saratoga Springs, NY to provide our technical, engineering and management services to the sector.”

Stuart Hall, Managing Director at Natural Power welcomed the news noting “Jim brings with him a wealth of credibility and experience having spent almost ten years in our industry. We are already well on the way of pulling together a team of engineers and project managers to support our client’s activities in the US. The next 12 months will be a busy year for us, taking our proven products and lifecycle consulting model into the States.”

For more information on our US operations why not sayhello@naturalpower.com

July 2009

Leading international renewable energy consultancy, Natural Power, have been appointed Approved Training Providers by ConstuctionSkills for the delivery of:

• Health and Safety Awareness
• Achieving Behavioural Change (ABC)
• Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme
• The Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS)
• The Site Management Safety Training Scheme Refresher Course

In addition to the approved courses above Natural Power also provide;

• A further range of training including Manual Handling, Risk Assessment, COSHH and Vehicle Off Road Driving
• Bespoke courses both written and presented relevant to clients requirements
• A specialist Health & Safety Consultancy service

Continuing their strong track record of health and safety, Natural Power has recently appointed Chris Cork as Health & Safety Advisor and Training Tutor. Chris noted “We are now in a position to provide clients, landowners and contractors in the wind industry with a one-stop-shop for construction and related training courses uniquely coupled with the real world experience from our windfarm construction projects across the UK. We are proud to be at the forefront of construction and operational safety standards in this sector, and in their ongoing development.”

ConstructionSkills is the Sector Skills Council for construction, representing every part of the construction industry in every part of the UK.

For a full list of courses including content, benefits and costs why not sayhello@naturalpower.com