Financing Implications of Wind Measurement Technologies

Tony RogersDNV Global Energy Concepts Inc.

116 John StreetLowell, MA 01852 USA

978-275-3800Tony.Rogers@dnv.com

1/17/2009

www.globaenergyconcepts.comwww.dnv.com

DNV-Global Energy Concepts

• 20 years of wind energy consulting– Data collection and analysis– Energy analysis– Project due diligence– Turbine engineering– Feasibility studies

• 110 people in Seattle, 15 in Lowell• Part of DNV

– Turbine and wind project certification

Wind Measurement Technologies

• Tower based anemometry– Tubular towers (to 60 m)– Lattice towers (to 100+ m)

• Remote Sensing– Sodars– Lidars

Anemometers

• Very familiar technology• The de-facto standard for

energy assessments• Issues

– Tower flow effects– Turbulence and vertical flow

effects

Financing with Anemometers

• Banks are familiar with anemometers

• Banks rely on energy analyst’s judgment– Judgments based on data quality, quantity,

measurement heights, number of towers, project size, terrain, loss estimates…

• No questions about use of anemometers

Remote Sensing

• Advantages– Easily portable– Measurements to turbine hub heights

• Issues– Data recovery decreases with height– Siting issues

• Complex flow, echo and ambient noise

– Shear effects– Vector vs. scalar averages

Financing with Remote Sensing

• Banks are unfamiliar with RS

• Banks rely on analyst’s judgment

• Progress on technological and analytical issues

• Planning is needed to maximize value of data

• Used in support of tower data

Technology Issues Related to Remote Sensing

• Maturing technology– Software/hardware changes– Manufacturing consistency, robustness– New vendors, new products– Limited performance data base

• Siting Issues– Echoes, ground clutter– Complex flow

Analysis Issues Related to Remote Sensing

• Lack of familiarity with technology– Performance– Magnitude of possible biases– Measurement uncertainty

• Lack of understanding how to use data– Value, use of short-term data sets

Remote Sensing for Energy Assessments

• Need a Plan!

• Address largest uncertainties

• Best practices siting

• Nearby tower!

• Verification against a tower

• Need to capture seasonal changes

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 5 10 15 20

60 m SODAR Wind Speed (m/s)

58 m

To

wer

Win

d S

pee

d (

m/s

)