feature article & competition
Turning Hindsight Into Foresight
An Evolving Sector
The global wind energy industry is a rapidly growing and continually evolving sector, one where detailed market and project knowledge are crucial elements in realising growth potential and maximising investment value. With competition for projects, sites, portfolios and turbine capacity ever on the increase, those developers who are fore-armed with a deep and broad technology and market knowledge will be those best placed to maximise their growth potential.
An Evolving Consultancy
With established offices and presence throughout the British Isles, western Canada, South America and mainland Europe, Natural Power Consultants are focussed on innovation that allows us to deliver a finely-tuned set of high-value technical consultancy and project management services to our global client base.
As a truly multi-disciplinary renewable energy consultancy, Natural Power assists a wide range of clients throughout all stages of the project life-cycle, from site selection and early feasibility, through detailed design and development, to construction and asset management. In response to the continuing sector expansion our core services continue to evolve to meet the needs of the global wind energy industry and to address emerging technology and market challenges.
Our Total Project Services
Our involvement in projects from conception to operation gives Natural Power a powerful insight into the design, delivery and operation of a successful wind farm. Without the benefit of total-project experience, what may seem like a simple decision or innocuous detail to the uninitiated may result in significant consequences.
From land deals to turbine micro-siting, data collection, energy yield calculations, planning conditions, turbine warranty clauses, construction contract terms and many other important considerations - all have the potential to impact on the securing of finance, project delivery timescales, and the eventual smooth operation of the final asset. By providing our clients with a total understanding of a wide range of project details and issues throughout the project life-cycle, Natural Power assists developers and owners in making informed project decisions, minimising investment risks and ultimately delivering successful wind energy projects.
"Natural Power provide us with a one-stop-shop for project management and technical consultancy services, ensuring consistency, quality and real ownership of both the problems and the solutions - as a developer we find this approach invaluable."
The Benefits of Practical Consultancy
What sets Natural Power apart from many other renewable energy consultancies is the fact that our advice is informed and defined through the application of practical wind-farming knowledge. A hands-on involvement at all stages of project development, construction and operation provides valuable learning opportunities. Lessons are not only learnt but are applied to all future projects. In other words, we turn hindsight into foresight, to the benefit of our clients and their lenders alike. This approach results in a range of services focussed on delivering projects that our clients can finance, construct and operate with the absolute minimum of delay, revision or trouble-shooting.
High-Value Due Diligence Services
Our overarching view of the totality of what is required to develop a successful wind farm results in knowledge and experience that is of particularly high-value in the field of project and portfolio due-diligence.
As the global wind industry continues to grow and mature there is an increasing trend towards consolidation, acquisition, refinancing and re-powering. Our clients tell us that our multi-disciplinary expertise and knowledge provides them with a very powerful range of services for both rapid project appraisal and evaluation, and for detailed financial due-diligence assessment.
"With Natural Power Consultants there's always the sense that a renewables project is in safe hands. They've been putting together successful wind projects since well before the sector became fashionable in the UK. This impressive track record, combined with the professional, pro-active and "can do" skills and approach of their high calibre staff means we always value working with them and have unhesitatingly recommended them to several of our clients who are looking to develop renewables projects."
Market-Focussed Technical Innovation
As well a firm reputation in the field of due diligence, Natural Power also have a well-earned reputation for technical innovation and the commercialisation of technologies and methodologies that are of real benefit and value to our clients. In recent years, the wind industry has faced the combined challenges of concerns over wind farm under-performance, a trend towards larger turbines on sites with complex and forested terrain, and a turbine market where demand outstrips supply, with the turbine vendors holding the upper-hand.
As a result of these factors, there has been an increased focus on advancing the understanding of wind quality issues and a drive towards the reduction in annual energy yield prediction uncertainty. More than ever, developers are required to demonstrate a detailed understanding of turbulence, shear and in-flow angle on their sites, and to present wind resource assessments that are designed from the outset to reduce uncertainty.
Happily this focus has coincided with the maturation of a number of advanced wind resource measurement and modelling techniques, including remote sensing for wind data collection and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for wind flow modelling. The days of relying on a single mast and a simple linear wind flow model are increasingly a thing of the past. Natural Power are firmly at the forefront of the application and provision of these technologies, advocating an approach that combines high-density site data collection and advanced wind flow modelling using the VENTOS® CFD code.
We provide the global wind energy market with the validated ZephIR® laser anemometer system, permitting the rapid collection of bankable wind data up to height of 200m, providing detailed wind quality and quantity measurements. Our VENTOS® CFD service is a cut-above other off-the-shelf CFD packages for wind energy applications. Developed and continually improved by the University of Porto, VENTOS® is the most thoroughly validated CFD application for wind energy applications. We do not believe that CFD modelling should be quick and easy - the value of CFD calculations is increased by applying significant computational resource and an expert understanding of the under-lying physics.
This unique combination of advanced tools - our natural powertools™ is being applied by Natural Power on a wide range of projects, from early complex terrain siting studies in British Columbia, to informing turbine procurement negotiations, trouble-shooting operational wind farms and re-powering the earliest wind farm in the UK. This application of advanced tools and methodologies to address real-life commercial issue is a further example of Natural Power providing our clients with unique insight, facilitating informed decision in all aspects of their wind farm business.
Competition time!
This month's competition is a challenging 'maths puzzle'. The story below depicts a tale with only one correct answer (and there is no clever way around the facts provided!). All correct answers will be entered in to the draw and the winner will be announced next edition.
Four people are trying to get to the pub for a whisky before closing time. They reach a bridge across a river only to find that it's extremely weak and can only take a maximum of two people at a time. To make matters worse, it's dark and they only have one torch. So, only two people can cross at a time and one person must return with the torch before another two people can then cross. Each of the 4 people take differing amounts of time to cross the bridge; one person takes 1 minute, another person takes 2 minutes, another takes 5 minutes and the fourth person takes 10 minutes. What is the shortest amount of time all 4 people can get across the bridge?
For example..
10 min person crosses with 5 min person (taking 10 mins)
5 min person returns (taking 5 mins)
And so on...
There are no simple work arounds such as throwing the torch across the bridge! This is purely a mathematical question.
HINT: the answer is NOT 19 minutes.. It can be done quicker!
Simply email your answers to sayhello@naturalpower.com including your contact details.
And the prize? A Shark Waterproof Wind Up Dynamo Torch and Charger (courtesy of www.naturalcollection.com) . don't worry about batteries running out in your torch with this new waterproof wind up Shark torch which benefits from two modes: one with 2 conventional 5mm LEDs for a standard light source, the second features a 1W LED for a super high beam of light, visible for up to 10km.
Entries must be received by Friday 6th June 2008 and the winner will be announced in the next edition of natural news, along with full details of the answer. This competition is not available to any Natural Power employees, or their families.
Last edition's competition!
We asked you what the object was in the picture below, and the answer...
The Wind Shaped Pavilion by Michael Jantzen - a design proposal for a large fabric structure that can be used as a public or private pavilion. The wind slowly and randomly rotates each of the segments around a central open support frame. This continually alters the shape of the pavilion, while at the same time generating electrical power for its night time illumination. For more information visit http://www.humanshelter.org
And the winners...
Andrew Jamieson (ScottishPower Renewables) was incorrect but quite humorous in his guess that the Wind Shaped Pavilion was Natural Power's new kennels for our beloved dogs. However, John Fairlie (Engena Limited) was indeed correct naming both the object and the designer. Congratulations to you both - you will soon be receiving your wind-up radios!