AWS Truepower, LLC, an international leader in renewable energy consulting and information services, today announced a major release of its industry-leading windNavigator®application. windNavigator 3.0 moves beyond wind project siting and resource assessment with the addition of two new modules designed to support wind monitoring campaigns and plant operations.
“This type of information may be the first clue to a plant underperformance problem.”
Campaign Management, a free value-add service available to all of AWS Truepower’s wind resource assessment clients, puts tower data at analysts’ fingertips. Through the secure windNavigator platform, service subscribers can download raw and quality-controlled meteorological data, view meteorological mast statistics, site commissioning information and receive monthly summary reports for their towers.
“The decision to deploy Campaign Management was largely driven by our desire to improve customer service,” said David DeLuca, Director of Wind Developer Services at AWS Truepower. “Many of our customers want to be able to keep an eye on their towers directly so they can get the latest information at any time. We’ve made it easy for them to do that.”
“In addition to providing easy access to tower data, summary statistics, and other information, data quality was of the utmost importance throughout our development process,” added DeLuca. “Clients are assured of getting the quality they have come to expect from AWS Truepower – at a reduced cost and with added convenience.”
For wind projects already in operation, Asset Management provides owners, operators, investors and asset managers with information enabling them to better understand and track wind plant performance.
“Understanding the impact on plant output of wind resource variations (like the low wind speeds we saw in much of the country last fall and winter) provides much needed insight for plant owners and investors,” said Michael Brower, Chief Technical Officer at AWS Truepower. “The response to Asset Management was overwhelmingly positive with the early test market. In fact, we were pleased to discover that our pilot customers found the application useful not only for assessing and tracking their own assets, but also other wind generation assets within the same region,” added Brower.
Asset Management subscribers can easily build out their project portfolio by using AWS Truepower’s comprehensive U.S. wind plant database. For each project in the portfolio, the subscriber receives a monthly report of the estimated wind speed and production deviation (or anomaly) from long-term expectations. In addition, the subscriber receives a long-term hourly wind resource dataset commonly known in the industry as a virtual met mast or VMM. The Asset Management version of this dataset, VMM+E, includes the estimated plant energy output for every hour. The data set is updated on a monthly basis allowing analysts to compare on-site plant data and wind measurements to AWS Truepower’s estimates.
“Now Asset Management subscribers can answer the question directly: if my plant output was low last month, was that because of the wind or some other reason?” remarks Brower. “This type of information may be the first clue to a plant underperformance problem.”
AWS Truepower arms professional wind organizations—from project developers to owners and operators—with accurate, science-based intelligence to drive smarter project decisions. windNavigator is AWS Truepower’s primary platform for delivering its information-rich products. Initially released in 2008 as an efficient, user-friendly prospecting and initial wind resource assessment tool, windNavigator quickly became the go-to resource for energy developers and government planners looking to locate and confirm attractive wind development sites.
Source: Business Wire