Characterizing the wind resource at project sites is crucial to determine wind turbine suitability, project design, and energy projections. DNV offers turnkey, full-service wind resource assessment services that include siting, equipment specification, procurement, logistics, installation, maintenance, data collection, validation, and reporting.
DNV - a recognized leader in wind resource assessment techniques for the wind energy industry
We offer wind resource assessment services either as stand-alone activities or as a part of a more comprehensive technical advisory package for large energy companies. Our activities range from instrumentation on a single tower for early-stage prospecting to management of comprehensive measurement programs incorporating towers, remote sensing, and data management for large-scale project development.
Our flexible and responsive approach allows us to tailor data analysis and reporting activities to our client’s needs. Our experience includes tubular towers, lattice towers, communication towers, and remote sensing. When it is time for a detailed assessment of expected energy generation, completion of a feasibility study, or site suitability analyses, we can seamlessly pass on the data to other technical advisory teams within DNV for additional analysis.
Meteorological towers - installation and maintenance
DNV understands all available options of tubular and lattice tower equipment used for resource assessment. Guidance and knowledge enable our clients to choose appropriate measurement systems that optimize data recovery and ultimately provide data that are sufficient to support porject financing and accurately represent the long-term potential of a project.
Based on our independent research of tower impacts on wind measurements, DNV has designed industry-exceeding, custom lattice-tower mounting booms that we offer to clients. Our booms and instrumentation packages ensure that the investment in a measurement program pays off and results in obtaining the most accurate data possible.
In North America, DNV’s unrivaled access to a network of trained met tower installation crews - prepared for all environmental issues - ensures electrical systems are appropriately grounded, anchoring and foundation designs are suitable for site conditions, sensors are oriented properly, and loggers and instrumentation are installed and comprehensively documented. Our documentation package includes thorough, extensive commissioning sheets and over 50 high-resolution photos detailing instrument heights and orientations, surrounding topography, anchoring, and other important information. DNV also provides distinctive checklists and photo documentation for each maintenance visit. Our internal database allows us to efficiently track and provide this information to clients as-needed throughout the duration of the project, including up-to-date sensor and configuration information and tower history. Commissioning sheets and photos are available at no additional cost to clients 24 hours a day through our extranet application.
DNV employs a rigorous safety and quality vetting process to select and work with only the most qualified crews. In addition to this, DNV performs regular site audits of all crews to ensure they continue to meet our high standards. This diligence is governed by a series of finely tuned internal processes that have been deployed for the 1000+ towers currently managed by DNV. Combined with industry-leading knowledge on sensors and tower configurations, our meteorological tower management services and their impact on uncertainty are unparalleled.
Wind data management
Our wind data management services deliver high-quality information to clients in a timely manner. DNV employs a dedicated, specially trained data team that utilizes custom tools designed for wind data management and analysis. We collect, organise, quality control (QC), compile, transmit, and summarize large quantities of meteorological data through the use of proprietary software and time-tested processes. DNV’s QC and validation procedures help us flag erroneous data, identify equipment problems, and notify our clients quickly about potential problems. When coupled with our maintenance services, repairs are made quickly and cost efficiently ultimately ensuring high data recovery rates.
DNV offers a secure web-accessible data archive via an extranet application, providing backup redundancy, 24/7 access to all met data collected for the client, and targeted permissions for project managers or external contractors. All data services are in accordance with international standards and consistent with requirements of wind energy developers and the investment community.
Remote sensing services
DNV offers comprehensive sodar and lidar services for wind resource assessment and power performance testing. Our team provides guidance in planning cost-effective remote sensing measurement campaigns, either as stand-alone units or in conjunction with meteorological towers. DNV can facilitate purchasing or leasing a remote sensing unit or work with the client’s units to conduct measurement campaigns customized to fit their wind resource requirements. We offer numerous on-site services including micrositing; consulting; calibration to nearby wind assessment tower(s); set-up and deployment of equipment; and expertise in maintenance including power upgrades, equipment troubleshooting or replacement, decommissioning, and re-commissioning.
DNV understands the challenges unique to remote sensing equipment and provides seamless management of data services including collection, calibration, quality control, and analysis. Our deliverables include data reports, calibration reports, one-time site visit summaries, and customized analysis encompassing long-term estimates. DNV regularly partners with other vendors in the industry to provide packaged service offerings to our clients.