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ONSHORE WIND SERvIcES
Technical by nature...
This brochure was produced with consideration for the environment. It is printed on paper that is 100% recycled and has an FSC accreditation.
All information correct at time of print February 2012
www.gl-garradhassan.com
Renewable energy consultants
contents About GL Garrad Hassan
GL Garrad Hassan is the world’s largest dedicated renewable energy consultancy, offering independent technical and engineering services, products and training to the wind, wave, tidal and solar sectors. From a network of local offices right across the globe, its experts deliver unrivalled breadth and depth of service to clients at all stages of the renewable energy project lifecycle.
A rich heritageGL Garrad Hassan is the renewable energy division of the GL Group and has a rich heritage. It was created by the integration of Garrad Hassan and the GL renewables entities of Noble Denton, Helimax and WINDTEST. Each of these organisations was at the forefront of its respective specialism and combined, they offer solutions that meet the current and future needs of the burgeoning renewable energy industry as it becomes main stream.
Independent advice guaranteedGL Garrad Hassan is a consulting company. It has no equity stake in any device or project. This rule of operation is central to its philosophy which sets it apart from many competitors and underlines its independence.
“Wind energy is no longer an eccentric observer of the electricity industry; it has arrived in the main stream. The technology has changed – wind turbines are now the world’s largest rotating machines; the owners and manufacturers have changed – no longer are they farmers and landowners supplied by backyard companies; they are now the same suppliers and the same customers as in conventional generation.
GL Garrad Hassan has been involved from the outset and so has taken the very same journey. The organisation is now designed to provide a comprehensive global service to a sophisticated client base whilst drawing on the last 30 years of experience, which underpins everything that we do.”
Dr. Andrew Garrad, President
2 About GL Garrad Hassan 4 Services and products 6 Global credentials 10 Research and development12 Technical excellence 14 Supporting the project developer 19 Supporting the owner/ operator 24 Supporting the investor/ lender 26 Strategic and policy advice 27 Training couses 27 More GL Garrad Hassan brochures
Put quite simply, GL Garrad Hassan has advised on more onshore wind projects around the world than any other organisa-tion. Its experts have been leading the technical understanding related to generating power from wind from the outset and this, combined with a heavy investment in R&D, has secured its position as the authority on wind energy.
GL Garrad Hassan’s client list boasts all of the wind industry’s major players whether they be developers, owners, operators, investors, lenders or manufacturers. It also regularly provides strategic and policy advice to Governments, NGOs and industry bodies.
The acknowledged technical authority on onshore wind
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THE WORLD’S LARGEST DEDICATED RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSULTANCY
Investors/lenders
Banks’ Engineer
Project/portfolio due diligence
company due diligence
construction monitoring
Pre-construction energy assessment
Turbine due diligence
Interconnection review
Inspections and audits
Market intelligence
Strategic and policy advice
Training courses
Services and products
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Project development
Project development partner
Strategic and policy advice
Training courses
Feasibility
constraints review
conceptual wind farm design
Wind mapping and energy analysis
Financial analysis
Grid connection review
Development
Environmental impact assessment
comprehensive wind monitoring service
Wind farm layout design
Energy yield and site conditions assessment
Grid connection support
Turbine selection
Pre-construction
contract tendering and procurement
civil and electrical design reviews
Management of grid connection
Formal energy yield assessment
Technical due diligence
Construction
Project management
construction monitoring
Owners’ Engineer
Operational projects
Asset management consulting
Performance and condition monitoring
Fault diagnostics
Operational energy assessment
Short-term forecasting
Turbine inspection
Power performance measurements
Electrical measurements
Acoustic measurements
Strategic and policy advice
Training courses
Government/NGOs
Market intelligence
Policy and regulatory studies
Specialist strategic studies
Comprehensive stakeholder solutions for the life of the project
WindFarmer Wind farm design softwareWindFarmer has been developed to ease the design of wind farms. It maximises the energy production of the farm whilst minimising its environmental impact. Users of WindFarmer gain the competitive advantage and accuracy of 30 years of expert wind energy know-how.
Advanced, validated models for informed decision-making
Robust, reliable software with local technical support
Multiple language versions
WindHelm Portfolio management solutionWindHelm puts users firmly in control of their wind farm portfolio, regardless of its scale or the different turbine models used. Using ScADA data, WindHelm provides advanced analysis and reporting to facilitate optimisation of assets.
Sophisticated ScADA control of any multiple of mixed manufacturer turbines
Tracks availability, efficiency and resource targets
Daily, weekly and monthly statistics plus customised reports
World-class products
Feasibility Development Preconstruction Construction Operation
Tailored project development services for the lifetime of your project
Feasibility Development Preconstruction Construction Operation
Tailored project development services for the lifetime of your project
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Global credentials
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A unique global perspective based on experience
Energy assessmentanalysing 20,000 MW of new projects per year25% of all projects worldwide70% of UK installed capacity75% of Irish installed capacity60% of Indian installed capacity52% of Italian installed capacity50,000 MW in US98% of Australian installed capacity
Operational assessment 15% of the world’s installed capacity38% of canadian installed capacity
Due diligence over 25% of the world’s project financed wind farmsworld’s largest wind farm portfolio acquisitionworld’s first wind energy bond deal
Independent engineer45% of US wind farmsthe world’s five largest wind farm financings42% of Italian installed capacity65% of Spanish installed capacity 34% of Portuguese instaleld capacity 39% of canadian installed capacity67% of Latin American installed capacity 62% of Australian installed capacitythe first project financed offshore wind farm
Short-term forecastingover 20% of the world’s operational wind capacity
Measurementspower curve measurements on 500+ turbinesload measurements on 100+ turbines founding member of MEASNETfirst ever load measurements on offshore wind farm
Products/ software solutionsworld’s largest independent ScADA supplier operating 6,000 MWindustry standard wind turbine design and simulation software - BladedBladed used to design world’s largest turbine
950+ staff, in 42 locations, across 24 countries
GL Garrad Hassan Americas
AustinMontrealOttawaPeterboroughPortlandPorto AlegreQuerétaroSan DiegoSantiagovancouver
GL Garrad Hassan Asia & Pacific
Bangalore Beijing Melbourne Navi MumbaiNewcastleSeoul Shanghai Tokyo Wellington
GL Garrad Hassan Europe, Middle East & Africa
BarcelonaBristolcairoCape TowncopenhagencorkGlasgowHamburgHeerenveenHinnerupImolaIzmirKaiser-Wilhelm-KoogLeidenLisbonLondonMadridOldenburgParisSint MaartenSloughWarsawZaragoza
Global credentials
A trusted partner providing solutions internationally
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Case Study: Technical due diligence and construction monitoring in multiple countries including UK, Ireland, France and Germany
Client: Nord/LB - UK/GermanyCase Study: Provision of global energy development services to the world’s largest operator
Client: Iberdrola, Spain
GL Garrad Hassan has provided a wide range of services to Falck Renewables PLc, a large independent developer, owner and operator of wind farms in Europe. Projects are located in the UK, Spain, France and Italy.
The services provided have been associated with all stages of the project life cycle and include energy assessment,
tendering support, owner’s engineering services, due diligence for project finance, asset management and optimisation, measurement services, inspection and portfolio management software.
Case Study: Multiple services across the lifecycle for projects in UK, Spain, France and Italy
Client: Falck Renewables PLC, UK
Eurus Energy is one of the pioneers of wind energy development. Eurus stepped into the world of wind energy in 1987 in Mojave, california, USA. Since then, it has been continually expanding its wind farm portfolio
and now has 1,902MW of operational capacity globally with projects in the USA, the UK, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Korea and Norway.
Case Study: Provision of multiple services for development projects in Japan, South Korea, USA, UK, Italy, Spain, Norway
Client: Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation, Japan
Horizon develops, constructs, owns and operates wind farms throughout North America. Based in Houston, Texas it currently has over 20 wind farms across the United States and has developed more than 3,400MW and operates over 2,800MW of wind farms. GL Garrad Hassan has acted as a technical advisor to Horizon across its portfolio, providing a range of services across the project lifecycle, including: energy assessment, technical due diligence, construction monitoring and end of warranty inspection.
Experts from GL Garrad Hassan have delivered a range of specific studies and reports to Horizon. They have acted as technical advisors to support debt and equity participation in the project, conducted independent
assessment of energy production and provided expert opinion related to specific turbine technology risk; operation and maintenance planning and commercial contracts.
In addition, GL Garrad Hassan evaluated the foundation design and the electrical substation and collection system design to identify related risks. It also provided construction monitoring services whilst verifying substantial completion of the wind farm in accordance with the project documents and is responsible for verifying the condition of the turbine equipment in relation to expiring turbine supply, warranty, and operating and maintenance (O&M) contracts.
Case Study: Provision of services across the project lifecycle to a large North American developer/owner/operator
Client: Horizon Wind Energy LLC, North America
Iberdrola is the world’s largest operator of wind power plants with a capacity of over 12,000 MW. GL Garrad Hassan works closely with Iberdrola’s technical team to provide energy resource analysis for their wind farms
around the world, both onshore and offshore. Its experts have now worked in this technical advising capacity for around 5000 MW of Iberdrola’s wind projects.
After structuring financing for UK wind farms in 2005, Nord/LB further expanded its coverage in international renewable energy project finance in 2006 with investments in the Bindoo wind farm project in Ireland. This was a significant step in establishing its relationship with Airtricity Renewables and in confirming its place in the wind financing market. Since then, Nord/LB has maintained its presence as a leading renewables lender and debt advisor in Europe and North America, and GL Garrad Hassan has provided technical due diligence and construction monitoring to support it throughout the journey.
The effort and time in arranging finance for a small scale wind farm can be comparable to that of a large wind portfolio and GL Garrad Hassan’s due diligence activity for Nord/LB has been across the spectrum of investments.
From issues associated with contractual coverage of project risks, potential project delay events and addressing construction related remedial works on site, through to input for a bankability advisory for a new turbine entering the market , experts from GL Garrad Hassan have provided Nord/LB with reliable technical advice – and, importantly, have proven that they are able to react quickly and effectively in time pressured transaction closings.
The relationship that has developed with Nord/LB demonstrates GL Garrad Hassan’s commitment to its clients, as well as its ability to deliver the first-class quality review product needed when making large investment decisions. Its expert presence on the transaction teams contributes to a smooth review process, and supports the ongoing performance of the asset once the investment is made.
Lost production estimation during turbine downtime
Ongoing development of methodology to accurately calculate the production impact of significant downtime and investigate the applicability of nacelle anemometer wind speed for lost energy estimation.
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Investigation of the use of remote sensing in complex terrain - LIDAR
Ground-based remote sensing measurements in wind resource assessment has been gaining pace in the last few years. Other than price, which is likely to change, the main obstacle to its widespread use is the full understanding of its behaviour in complex terrain. This ongoing project aims to address that topic.
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Health monitoring of wind turbines using SCADA data
An assessment of the potential for using component temperature information typically available from a ScADA system to conduct health monitoring of wind turbines.
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Technology watch of grid codes
Active monitoring of the development of grid codes in Europe and participation in EWEA harmonisation working group.
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Icing research on operational projects
Production losses as a result of icing events can be quite significant in cold climates. Icing events can be identified via site monitoring and weather forecasts and much can be learned to help predict losses during the pre-construction energy assessment by directly comparing the performance of operational turbines during icing events with the icing behaviour of pre-construction anemometry measurements.
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Long-term wind speed trends in North Western Europe
Ongoing project since 2006 to record and analyse long-term wind speed trends.
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Mesoscale modelling development
Mesoscale wind flow modelling can provide significant value in the early stages of project development. GL Garrad Hassan undertakes continual development of knowledge and tools to support the commercial application of mesoscale modelling with the aim of providing clients with accurate and practically applicable services.
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WInd shear, uncertainities and thermal stability
Advanced methods are being developed to improve the vertical extrapolation of wind speed at real world wind farm sites located in very different wind regimes.
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A selection of internal R&D projectsDedicated to delivering the future
Wind energy is developing very rapidly. The start of the recent era can be dated back to the late 1970’s and hence is only really 30 years old. In that time, turbines have grown from diameters of 10 to 15m with power levels of 50 to 100 kW to the present size of 120-130m with power levels of 5,000 to 7,000 kW - a growth of many orders of magnitude in just a few decades. At the same time, wind farms have grown from 1 MW to 1000 MW! Such growth combined with a major improvement in reliability has only been achieved as a result of a huge research and development effort. Meteorology, aerodynamics, dynamics, control and civil, electrical and mechanical engineering and material science have all played a part.
GL Garrad Hassan has been at the forefront of this development on the theoretical front and also via validation of new computational tools through its measurement activities. The advent of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as a standard tool in wind farm evaluation and the introduction of LIDAR and SODAR remote sensing are good examples of the way that science has changed every day life in wind farm development and analysis. GL Garrad Hassan has been involved in every stage.
In parallel to these engineering developments has been the development of standards and certification. GL Garrad Hassan has been a big contributor to this activity and remains committed to it as a central part of the development of the industry as a whole.
A commitment to the science of wind energy is evident in every aspect of GL Garrad Hassan’s work. It is the driving force behind many of the IEC committees and EU initiatives and was a founding member of the specialized wind turbine measurement group known as Measnet. It is also recognised for its pioneering work on all aspects of wind turbine and wind farm modelling both onshore and offshore.
In order to retain its position at the forefront of the industry, GL Garrad Hassan champions R&D internally, as well as externally. In addition to its collaborative work with specialist institutions and consortia on externally funded R&D projects, it also has a dedicated internal R&D fund to allow its experts to apply for support to pursue advancement in areas related to their individual specialisms.
Research & Development
• Validity check of numerical site calibration according to IEC 61400-12-1 ED.1 and MEASNET PPMP v4
• Influence of topographic maps on energy production assessments
• Enhanced ramp event forecasting using upstream wind measurements
• How to determine the portfolio effect based on wind regime dependency: European examples
• Wind tunnel measurements of the flow upstream a wind turbine: effects on the power production
• New developments in large wind farm modelling
Technical excellence
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Technical by nature
Case Study: Setting European measurement standards - MEASNET A collaborative approach
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GL Garrad Hassan is respected for its technical excellence whether it be its depth of knowledge and service offering, its detailed measurements and data analysis, its analytical modelling capability or market knowledge. The by-words of its operation are technical rigour and independence. This stringent approach is at the core of the business and influences all areas of activity.
Since GL Garrad Hassan has no equity stake in any turbine or wind farm and does not patent its innovations it frequently publishes technical papers and its staff are regularly invited to speak at conferences and meetings around the world. It is a member of all the relevant associations and professional bodies and it serves on all the essential standards committees.
The internal focus on technical rigour and quality has resulted in the development of many of the analytical methods that have now become industry standard tools. They are used both by the experts within the company and by the industry as a whole. Many of the tools which were originally developed to allow GL Garrad Hassan to provide an excellent consultancy service have now become products for much wider use.
Given GL Garrad Hassan’s technical depth and its global breadth, it is able to provide solutions to any challenge in the renewable energy field. GL Garrad Hassan only works in renewable energy and its management and staff are firmly committed to the fullest possible use of renewables globally – harnessing the power of nature around the world. Both their approach and their impact are truly technical by nature!
For much of the last decade, the leading European wind test centres have been involved in developing measurement standards to ensure that measurements performed are of high quality.
Over the same period, several national and international recommendations, standards and requirements for measurement procedures for wind speed and wind turbine systems have been developed or are still in development.
As a result, for certain measurements, there are several different formal procedures related to the gathering and evaluating of data and these can lead to different measurement results.
Experience also showed that measurements performed by different institutes did not lead to comparable results, even if they took the same recommendations into account.
To address this situation, the most experienced European wind energy institutes worked collaboratively as MEASNET in order to identify methods and rules to ensure that high quality measurements carried out by them were accurate and comparable.
Today, MEASNET approved measurements are central to international wind turbine and wind farm development. The name MEASNET is associated with the high quality of measurements required by banks and investors to underpin their financing decisions. Results and energy predictions based on such measurements diminish the project risks and therefore considerably improve the financing conditions of the respective wind farm projects.
Wind turbine performance and loading measurement experts from GL Garrad Hassan’s WINDTEST services were founder members of MEASNET and remain actively engaged in the programme.
GL Garrad Hassan’s wind farm design software, WindFarmer, originates from its pioneering wake modelling studies in the late 1980’s. Through spearheading R&D, WindFarmer has maintained its technological leadership in wind farm design ever since. Developed as an in-house tool, as early as 1993 WindFarmer featured an automatic layout optimiser, noise modelling and a CFD representation of a wind turbine wake. In 1998 WindFarmer gained a first class interface, financial modelling and great visualisation tools. The first decade of the new millennium saw the release of a continuous stream of powerful new features: shadow flicker, electrical layout, design turbulence, data cleaning, long term correlation, uncertainty, wake models for close spacing, offshore wind farms, very large wind farms. There are many others in development to ensure that WindFarmer clients can continue to be assured of a competitive edge.
This internal focus on detailed technical approach has resulted in the development of many of the analytical tools which are used by the experts within the organisation on a day to day basis. They were specfically designed to aid them in the process of delivering technical excellence to GL Garrad Hassan’s clients.
Most of GL Garrad Hassan’s industry standard software products were also initally developed to support its consultancy business. There is probably no organisaton better placed to understand the practicalities related to the development and operation of wind farm projects which means that its technological solutions are grounded in years of physical consulting experience.
WindFarmer Wind farm design software
A selection of GL Garrad Hassan’s technical papers and presentations
High
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Supporting the project developer
Flexible support across all phases of the projectWind farm developers have varying needs. GL Garrad Hassan recognises this fact and therefore offers flexible support. It operates a network of experts with specialist technical expertise. Any combination of them will work together on a project dependent on a client’s requirements. Together, their knowledge and skills can cover the entire project lifecycle, allowing clients to mitigate the risks and avoid the delays and increased costs that developers commonly encounter when trying to deliver their projects.
An experienced project development partnerWhere clients require broader support across projects, GL Garrad Hassan offers engineers who are specifically tasked with working across multiple internal specialist teams to deliver developers with a seamless relationship from the feasibility stage right through to an operational project.
Project development solutions
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The process of identifying new potential wind farm sites is time consuming and expensive.
GL Garrad Hassan supplies wind maps, based on state-of-the-art meso-scale modelling techniques that can significantly reduce this burden by providing a preliminary prediction of the wind speed over a large area. These predictions can be delivered before any measurement equipment has been installed at a site or
even before it has been visited. Having analysed wind projects all around the world, GL Garrad Hassan has an unprecedented level of experience, bringing invaluable local knowledge to meso-scale work.
The map below was developed for the Indian market and was given as a gift at the launch of one of GL Garrad Hassan’s Indian offices. Many other national wind maps are also available.
Case Study: Mesoscale Mapping
Client: Multiple - India
GL Garrad Hassan began its relationship with Innergex in 1999, prior to the inception of cartier Wind, when the two companies involved in the partnership sought assistance in the different phases of project development of several of their projects. As part of its unique systemic approach, it assisted, and is still assisting, this wind developer with several services including wind engineering and environmental permitting on 6 projects, 5 of which were awarded a PPA following a competitive bidding process. GL Garrad Hassan acted during all the phases of project development, construction and operation to provide advice and developer’s tailored consulting services.
The services that GL Garrad Hassan has provided include: site prospecting and identification, design and optimisation of the wind resource assessment
programme, met mast installations and remote sensing equipment deployment and commissioning, data quality control and analysis, federal, provincial and local county permitting support, environmental assessments, specialist studies such as noise, visual, flicker, electromagnetic interference and land use issues, GIS mapping and constraints analysis.
In addition GL Garrad Hassan’s experts have provided measurement services to assess pre- and post-construction noise and electromagnetic fields at the site; they also provided wind farm layout optimisation, and conducted an independent assessment of the energy production at the wind farm, as well as carrying out performance testing, including power curve measurements and operational performance analysis, and acting as technical expert to provide testimony at public hearings.
Case Study: Project development solution across five projects totalling 790MW
Client: Cartier Wind, Canada
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Sarreole is developing the Taïba N’Diaye Wind Farm in the region of Thiès in the west of Senegal and chose GL Garrad Hassan to carry out an independent analysis of the wind climate and energy production. 15 months of wind data had been recorded at the Taïba N’Diaye site from a meteorological mast up to a height of 50 m.
The prediction of the variation in long-term wind speed over the site was challenging and experts from GL Garrad Hassan employed their specialist experience to assist Sarreole in resolving issues related to the limited source of consistent long-term wind speed data and the uncertainty associated with the vertical and horizontal
extrapolation of the wind regime, as well as the impact of significant high temperature shut-down for some turbine models.
Based on the work, GL Garrad Hassan issued several recommendations in order to reduce uncertainties. One of the recommendations was to install a taller meteorological mast on site in order to improve the energy assessment. A new 100 m meteorological mast is now in position with further energy assessment planned for 2011.
Case Study: Energy production assessment for the first wind farm in Sénégal - the largest project in West Africa
Client: Sarreole, France
Case Study: Project Development study and best practice road map for development in India Client: Vestas Asia Pacific
GL Garrad Hassan has been the technical consultant to the Italian developer, IvPc, since it supported the project finance of its very first wind farm portfolio back in 1998. Since this initial project, IvPc has developed, constructed and currently maintains wind farms across Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia with a total capacity of 1040 MW - approximately 20% of the current total Italian wind capacity.
Experts from GL Garrad Hassan have provided technical support for all 56 wind farms, working on behalf of multiple lenders to the projects by providing a range of services including energy yield assessments, technical due diligence reviews for project financing and construction and operation monitoring.
Case Study: Technical advisor for project financing of 56 wind farms in Italy
Client: Multiple Lenders to Italian Vento Power Corporation (IVPC) projects
A team of local and technical experts from GL Garrad Hassan assisted vestas with its Indian development activities and delivered a detailed process road map that looks at the best practice approach. This road map includes special consideration of the different local state regulations that provide vestas with the knowledge to deliver world-class projects in Asia. The road map addresses land and infrastructure development and assesses all the major activities required from conception to development.
Utilising a unique systemic approach, GL Garrad Hassan’s experts provided the best route for a wind farm site development that looks at the different types and
execution of land purchase e.g. private land, government lease land, revenue land, as well as best practice for electrical infrastructure, gaining all necessary approvals and permits, and competitive differentiators.
The report outlined multiple best practices in relation to electrical infrastructure that included power evacuation schemes, grid availability and compliance, basic layout of the electrical infrastructure, supply, erection, testing and commissioning as well as required liaison and interaction with local Government, Forest Department, Electrical Utility, Electrical Inspectorate of the State and State Regulatory commission.
Case Study: Onshore and offshore site prospecting study using GIS tools
Country: Canada
In order to assist in identifying viable onshore and offshore wind sites in the province, the client hired GL Garrad Hassan to undertake a detailed site prospecting study using GIS tools, including spatial analysis. The approach to this study was to use a multicriteria analysis, considering environmental, social, and technical factors, to identify viable large-scale sites. The analysis included the consideration of the wind resource, the proximity to the grid, and environmental factors such as the presence of protected areas, settlements, airports, radar installations, water bodies, inaccessible areas because
of complexity of terrain, conservation reserves, wildlife management areas, shipping lanes offshore, amongst others. The analysis also included the calculation of “land available for development” or “offshore area available for development”, outside constrained areas, in order to identify project sites large enough to host a large-scale project.
Finally, GL Garrad Hassan ranked the selected sites based on the quality of the wind resource, the proximity to the grid and environmental risk.
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Supporting the project developer
A suite of services to deliver operational successIn order to maximise the potential of a wind farm, it is essential that an owner / operator monitors the project thoroughly on an ongoing basis and understands and acts upon the wealth of information that is available to him. As the wind energy market matures, there is increasing focus on maximising the energy capture and output from tubines, farms and portfolios in order to support the future financial viability of the sector and its long-term investment appeal. GL Garrad Hassan has been conducting detailed analysis of the resource and the technologies of operational wind farms and portfolios for many years and offers a suite of services to deliver owners and operators with optimal projects.
Advanced technical understanding of all operational matters
GL Garrad Hassan can facilitate both the collection of information pertinent to a project and an owner/operator’s access to that data. Even more importantly, its experts are highly experienced in translating information related to equipment, site and external events in order to allow an owner /operator to take informed decisions and actions that will ensure that the project continues to be as safe and effective as possible for the whole of its design life.
Operational project solutions
Supporting the owner / operator
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Case Study: Wind measurement campaign for multiple developers bidding to build, own and operate Egypt’s first 250MW private wind power project Client: Various
In 2008, the Egyptian Government championed renewable energy by setting itself a target to meet 20% of the country’s electricity requirement from renewables by 2020. Of this, 12% is expected to be delivered from wind energy projects. Egypt currently has an installed wind energy capacity of 550 MW which it aims to increase to 7,200 MW by 2020. To help deliver this goal, there is a commercialisation project underway that is focused on engaging the private sector in phases. As part of the first phase the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company issued an invitation to tender and has shortlisted ten potential developers to build, own and operate Egypt’s
first privately owned, 250MW Gulf of Suez Wind Power Project.
To support the individual bids, nine of the shortlisted developers have formed a steering committee to fund a joint wind measurement campaign. GL Garrad Hassan was selected by the steering committee as the preferred consultant to specify, install, monitor and assess the joint wind measurement campaign. GL Garrad Hassan’s local experts are scheduled to start work on site in November 2010 and the monitoring period is expected to run for a minimum period of twelve months with wind speed and energy assessment work to follow.
Case Study: Short-term forecasting worldwide Client: Various
GL Garrad Hassan delivers highly accurate and reliable wind power forecasting services around the clock with operational availability in excess of 99.9%. It provides short-term forecasting for more than 33GW of operational wind projects worldwide including the whole of the UK and Greece and, in the USA, california, the ERCOT region of Texas, the MISO region in the Midwest and the BPA region of the Pacific Northwest.
In total, more than 30 clients in 14 countries rely on forecasts to maximise the value of their wind farm production. They are used by utilities to optimise their wind power trading, ISOs to help integrate wind energy reliably and efficiently, and by owners and operators to schedule their maintenance.
The forecasts adopt a combined physical and statistical approach - refining weather model inputs from a number of approved suppliers and enhancing the data to produce wind power predictions. This is done using high resolution wind farm models, to take account of site-specific conditions, and via statistical routines that “learn” - adapting to the measured data.
A study published in 2006 revealed the potential benefit of using GL Garrad Hassan’s forecasting service to be a €10/MWh increase in the traded value of wind energy.
UK forecasted 24 hours ahead v actual power
Supporting the owner/ operator
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Since 2007, it has been standard practice in Spain to verify the power curves of turbines used in large projects. For complex terrain, a measurement campaign starts with a site calibration as outlined in IEc 61400-12-1 “Power performance measurements of electricity producing wind turbines”, and continues with the power curve measurement itself. Such measurements have to be undertaken for hundreds of turbines.
Once the initial results are produced, a decision can then be taken on how to proceed. Naturally, the target for every turbine supplier is to provide a power curve at least as good as the contracted one. The test may well prove that the measured power curve is at or above the contracted standard. If the contracted power curve is not met, the measurement results can provide valuable input for the improvement of the turbines and hence increase performance and revenue for the owner.
GL Garrad Hassan’s experts have conducted many such power curve verifications in Spain. Where power curves did not meet the contracted values, improvements were carried out which increased the power output of the wind farms significantly and led to successful power curve verification for the contracting partners. Where manufacturers could not increase the performance, the measurements resulted in the payout of Liquidated Damages to reimburse the owner for the missing revenue.
In the future, for measurements in complex terrain or for turbines with very large hub heights, new techniques will need to be adopted, such as 3D Sonic Anemometry or LIDAR. In order to retain a high quality approach to measurements, experts from GL Garrad Hassan have participated on an ongoing basis, for over 20 years, in the development and maintenance of both the IEc guidelines and the MEASNET procedures associated with the various different measurement approaches.
Case Study: Power curve verification of multiple Spanish turbines
Client: Various
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Sample power curve measurement
Case Study: Editorial for EWEA’s Wind Directions publication
45WIND DIRECTIONS | July 2009
Optimising wind farm operating effi ciency
| science corner |
It’s about effi ciency, not just availability!Monitoring and optimising the operating effi ciency of conventional power generating plants has been common practice for many decades but this has not been the case with wind farms, where the main focus to date has been on turbine availabil-ity. A modern onshore turbine can be expected to be available for as much as 97% of the time [1] but the key question is ‘How effi cient is the turbine during the time that it is operating?’
With Europe’s installed wind power capacity now exceeding 65 GW [2], investment in availability is ongoing, for example: the EU Reliawind project, focused on improving wind turbine reliability, has € 7.7 M of funding [3]. However, as the industry becomes mature, profi t margins are narrowing, driving the need to monitor and optimise operat-ing effi ciency in order to maximise Return On Investment (ROI).
Avoid loss and enhance project valueThe economic benefi t of optimising operating ef-fi ciency can be illustrated by the following invest-ment case: a 50 MW wind farm in Northern Europe with a capacity factor of 30%, and a capital cost of € 72 M has a typical debt-equity leverage of 75%. Mean annual revenue from energy sales will be around € 10 M. This means that, if 2% of revenue were clawed back through detailed monitoring and optimisation, a 7% (almost € 200 k) increase in annual equity distribution would be gained; in turn, this would increase the ROI from 13% to 14%. The costs of the monitoring and subsequent repairs would be a fraction of this potential increase in project value.
How to monitor operating effi ciency Monitoring the operating effi ciency of a wind farm and fault-fi nding, using tools that utilise the SCADA data and fault logs are essential on a modern utility-scale wind farm. Cross-checks with maintenance and service reports, and ongoing dia-logue with the operations technicians, will enable faults to be diagnosed and fi xed.
There are many techniques for identifying oper-ating performance issues:
Keir Harman, Head of Asset Management and Optimisation
Services (AMOS), Garrad Hassan
Figure 1 illustrates turbine performance through time lapse animation. This method provides an overview of an operating wind farm over a whole month with the power level, operating state and turbine orientation shown schematically. A turbine operating in an abnormal manner can easily be detected by comparison with its neighbours.
Where a malfunction is suspected, tracking average power curves, based on the nacelle ane-mometers, over several months confi rms changes in relative operating effi ciency and allows produc-tion loss estimation. The nature of a change in shape of the power curve will indicate the type of malfunction.
Modern turbines offer more fl exible power con-trol with variable speed and active pitch control-led by complex algorithms. This allows a turbine to remain registered as 100% available while operating at reduced effi ciency as a result of either operator changes or automatically, in order to manage structural loads. Resulting changes in operating effi ciency are only effectively detected using trend analyses.
More detailed forensic analyses may be required in cases where the underperformance is more subtle or intermittent. Figure 2 demon-strates a power and blade pitch curve for a turbine with an intermittent malfunction of the pitch system. If this fault had remained undetected, revenue loss would have accumulated.
Analyses that assess faults using parameters such as blade pitch angle, rotor speed and yaw angle often highlight the cause of underperform-ance. Aspects of the control system that com-monly cause degraded performance include yaw system misalignment, pitch mechanism malfunc-tion, sensor error (temperature, vibration) and incorrect parameter settings. Once identifi ed, faults can usually be rectifi ed by a simple repair or re-calibration.
The future of monitoring and optimisationIn the future, techniques are likely to be auto-mated with low frequency condition monitoring systems programmed into the turbine controllers and, ultimately, tasked with identifying problems at the point that they occur in order to promote immediate remediation.
Figure 1 – Screenshot from a wind farm schematic time lapse animation
Figure 2 – Turbine power and blade pitch curves based on 10 minute average SCADA data showing intermittent pitch malfunction
References
1. Availability trends observed at
operational wind farms:
www.ewec2008proceedings.info
2. BTM Consult – www.btm.dk
3. EU Reliawind offi cial website –
www.reliawind.eu
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Supporting the owner/ operator
Falck is an independent developer, owner and operator of wind farms. It has operational projects in UK, Spain, France and Italy. GL Garrad Hassan provides a range of services to the company to support the effective operation and management of these projects.
GL Garrad Hassan has provided its portfolio management system to facilitate management of the entire portfolio of projects. The system interfaces with the various technologies that comprise the company portfolio, including GE, Vestas (NEG Micon), Enercon and Nordex. The system gathers real time data from each individual project’s ScADA system and stores this on a common SQL data base. The system provides the asset managers with a common interface to the project regardless of technology. Additionally, enhanced reporting capabilities are provided using a common reporting system. The system also provides SMS alerts to the asset managers on issues that may be of concern.
Experts from GL Garrad Hassan also provide asset management and optimization services to provide ongoing support for the operation and management of Falck’s projects. They analyse SCADA data from almost all of Falck’s projects on a monthly basis. The analyses focus on two elements; availability and power performance.
When analysing each project’s availability, the experts identify and allocate any causes of downtime to the individual project elements including turbine, infrastructure and grid. The definition of availability is tailored to meet the requirements of each project. In particular, availability is calculated according to the warranty definition in the supply agreements. Falck can
then use the information to support any claim that it may have against a supplier.
The power performance of every wind turbine is examined on a monthly basis by GL Garrad Hassan. Using such analyses, under-performance may be identified without resorting to formal power curve measurement. Underperformance may be generic and affect all turbines on a project or it may affect individual turbines. The former may occur in the early months of a project life and might be symptomatic of ineffective construction and commissioning procedures. Poor performance of individual turbines may be due to specific defects that could have an impact on operational life. Through co-operation with the turbine manufacturers and the asset managers it has been possible in many cases to materially increase production and revenues.
It is now accepted good practice to perform inspection of assets prior to expiry of warranty provided with the supply agreements. GL Garrad Hassan has an inspection capability that can provide end of warranty and other inspections. The inspections are normally performed in accordance with published GL guidelines and tailored to meet the specific needs of the client. GL Garrad Hassan’s experts have performed end of warranty inspections for Falck. The inspections have identified significant issues that have been addressed to the warranty provider prior to the expiry of the warranty and GL Garrad Hassan has provided technical support for the negotiations as required.
Case Study: Operational services for a portfolio of projects in UK, Spain, France and Italy
Client: Falck Renewables PLC, UK
Case Study: Inspection services for Scottish wind farm
Client: GLID, UK - Centrica/TCW
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comparison of power curves at a single wind farm
cracked bearing found during end of warranty inspection
GL Garrad Hassan offers inspection services to wind farm owners. One area of this service offering that is expanding is end of warranty inspections. Such inspections are performed immediately prior to expiry of the defects warranty with an objective of identifying any defects that need to be addressed. Through this mechanism, the turbines enter the post warranty period in good condition.
GL Garrad Hassan was retained to perform an end of warranty inspection at the Glens of Foudland wind farm, Scotland which comprises 20 turbines. The wind farm is owned by GLID, a joint venture between centrica and TCW. The defects warranty period was 5 years. The end
of warranty inspection on the turbines included visual inspection, blade inspection, gearbox internal inspection, thermal imaging inspection and generator insulation testing.
In addition to the end of warranty inspection, GLID added various statutory and other inspections to the scope which GL Garrad Hassan provided, offering a single point of contact for the client.
The inspection found no issue of major concern which gave GLID significant re-assurance that the maintenance work performed to date had been to a good standard and that the turbines were in an appropriate condition to begin the post-warranty phase of operation.
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Supporting the investor/ lender Case Study: Shaping technical due diligence model in UK and Irish markets
Client: Barclays Corporate, UK
Barclays London has been committed to investment in wind energy from a relatively early stage. In 2004, GL Garrad Hassan supported Barclays’ first investment in the Tappaghan wind farm in Northern Ireland and has continued to support its wind investment activities since. At the time of the initial investment, the lending sector for wind projects was focused on larger portfolio transactions and international projects and therefore these early transactions helped shape the model for
technical due diligence in the UK and Irish markets.
For each project finance transaction, GL Garrad Hassan assisted Barclays in its appraisal of the associated investment risk, including assessment of proposed project technology and site layout designs, the contractual coverage and risk allocation under the project documents and the suitability of the financial model inputs to define the project over its intended life.
Informing intelligent financial decisions
Independent advice from the people with the most experienceUnderstanding the risks and mitigation measures associated with the wind industry is vital for lenders and investors in wind farms. GL Garrad Hassan has unrivalled experience and expertise in providing independent assessments related to renewable energy projects and has acted in this capacity for 25% of all of the world’s project financed wind farms, significantly more, globally, than any other company. Its experts have also provided key technical advice during acquisition of some very well known names in the sector.
Mitigating risk at all stages of the project
GL Garrad Hassan has been supporting investors in wind farms for nearly three decades. The de-tailed technical understanding of its experts provides a solid basis for informing intelligent financial decisions, regardless of the scale of the project or investment or the lifecycle stage.
The due diligence process sometimes uncovers issues that could present unacceptable risk exposure to a project financier, or issues may arise during project construction that threaten to impact the project’s ability to cover its loan during early operations. When such issues arise, GL Garrad Hassan provides solid technical advice to develop mitigation strategies. The investment transaction process is not always smooth, with deadlines imposed by site activities or other contractual obligations. GL Garrad Hassan’s technical experts are experienced at helping clients to negotiate through the investment process without getting sidetracked or delayed by non-critical issues. This ability to deliver clients with a high quality product in this fast paced environment has helped to develop and maintain client trust.
Case Study: Technical advisor for portfolio acquisition of world’s third largest producer
Client: EDP Renováveis, Portugal
EDP Renováveis has rapidly expanded its portfolio of wind projects in recent years, to reach current position as third in the rating of wind farm operators worldwide. GL Garrad Hassan was EDPR’s technical advisor for
their acquisition of some portfolios, such as Horizon in the USA. GL Garrad Hassan provides support to EDPR, mainly in the USA, in technical Due Diligence and Energy Analysis for project acquisition and financing.
GL Garrad Hassan was retained by Terra-Gen Power, LLc to provide independent engineering and energy services for the benefit of the investors in four wind energy projects at its Alta Wind Energy center in Kern Country, California. The project forms part of a 3,000MW development initiative. Local experts from GL Garrad Hassan conducted a full technical due diligence review in support of the $1.2 billion project financing. They will also provide inspection and monitoring services throughout project construction, and technical support to underpin the leveraged lease, to be provided by citibank, N.A, when commercial operations commences.
The independent technical due diligence review undertaken included an assessment of the energy production at the site, a review of the site suitability,
and a technical assessment of the plant, the equipment and all of the material procurement, construction and operation contracts. In addition, the experts analysed project costs and carried out a full financial model review. GL Garrad Hassan’s final independent engineering and wind resource assessment reports served as a foundation to inform the ten financial institutions involved in the project financing.
The term financing of Alta II-V is supported by a 144a bond issuance and structured as a leveraged lease whereby citibank, N.A. will become the lessor to Terra-Gen at the start of commercial operations in 2011. Terra-Gen will manage and operate the wind projects under long-term agreements.
Case Study: Investor support for world’s largest financial closing $1.2 billion
Client: Terra-Gen LLC – Alta II-V Wind Farm, North America
2524
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Strategic and policy advice Training courses
Uniquely positioned to provide strategic adviceAs the world’s largest independent renewable energy consultancy, with local experts in all significant markets across the globe and technical competence spanning the entire technology and project lifecycle, GL Garrad Hassan is uniquely positioned in its ability to understand the interplay between technology, policy, economics and regulation. As a result, it is unrivalled in its ability to deliver high quality strategic advice of both a commercial and political nature.
Executive Market Reports
In addition to bespoke client work, GL Garrad Hassan’s strategy and policy professionals also produce a range of executive market reports for general sale. These are created where there is considered to be a high level of in-terest in a market and aim to provide a clear and concise overview of market drivers and barriers. They also include wind resource information that utilises methodology and data specific to GL Garrad Hassan.
Case Study: Tradewind study - Effects of high wind penetration on electricity transmission systems across Europe
Client: European Commission, via Intelligent Energy Europe Executive Agency
Case Study: Study - Economic development of wind potential in Canada
Client: Industry Canada
GL Garrad Hassan assessed the wind energy value chain in canada for this Government agency. Utilising their wide experience of both supply chain analysis and the North American market, experts from GL Garrad Hassan assessed the value of investment made in wind energy in canada for each stage of the supply chain.
The study provided the client with a thorough overview on the current state of the wind energy industry in canada, as well as suggesting possible measures to help stimulate the value chain
Delivering training courses to the wind industry for over 20 years GL Garrad Hassan’s training courses have been informing renewable energy professionals around the world for over 20 years.
Packaged and bespoke coursesThe vast specialist technical and engineering expertise retained within the company has been
honed to develop both packaged and bespoke training courses that deliver understanding to people at all stages of their career. courses are delivered by specialist staff who are leaders in their individual fields and, when not training, are heavily involved in GL Garrad Hassan’s commercial consultancy work and R&D projects.
WIND FARM DESIGN
WIND FARM PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATION AND OPTIMISATION
INTRODUCTION TO METEOROLOGY
WIND FARM ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
FINANCING YOUR WIND FARM
WIND FARM DEVELOPMENT
AN INTRODUCTION TO WINDFARMER
WINDFARMER USERS SOFTWARE TRAINING
BLADED USERS SOFTWARE TRAINING
More GL Garrad Hassan brochures
COMPANY PROFILE TURBINE DESIGNOFFSHORE WIND WAVE AND TIDAL SOLAR
Bladed WindFarmerTidal Bladed
GL Garrad Hassan was part of a consortium of companies and research institutes which conducted the Tradewind study funded by the EU Intelligent Energy Programme. The study investigated the effect of very high wind penetrations on the interconnected electricity transmission systems of Europe (Nordel, UCTE, UK and Ireland), and in particular how the movement of weather systems affected
flows of electrical power generated from wind farms.
TradeWind was aimed at facilitating the dismantling of barriers to the large-scale integration of wind energy in European power systems, on transnational and European levels, and to formulate recommendations for policy development, market rules and interconnector allocation methods to support wind power integration.
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WindHelm
