Met Office Exhibits at RenewableUK 2012

Met Office experts will be at the RenewableUK 2012 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Glasgow this week, demonstrating how investment in scientific research can be applied to weather and climate services to help the wind energy market onshore and offshore.

Alasdair Skea, Renewables Science Manager at the Met Office, will take part in the RenewableUK panel discussion on Thursday 1 November, as part of the Installer Session. His presentation, “Windfall or shortfall?” will examine the issues for wind turbine siting and explore the latest developments in siting for the best energy production.

The Met Office will showcase its latest Wind Review (summer 2012). This quarterly resource for the wind energy industry looks at seasonal wind conditions across Europe, assessing the windiest sites over the summer and helping owners and operators to assess whether their farm’s under or over performance is due to wind or other factors.

The team will also be available to talk about the new Wind Production Forecast Plus. This site-specific weather forecasting service, with enhanced output accuracy, is designed to help energy generators, traders, consultants and grid operators make more accurate predictions of energy generation from wind farm assets.

Rob Harrison, Head of Renewables at the Met Office, said: “Managing wind risk is critical. Our investment in science for the renewable energy sector means we understand not only the climatology but also the risks associated with wind assessment in relation to the overall return on investment of any project. And we apply that scientific research in our wind energy solutions.

 “We are continually striving to deliver the accuracy required from wind farm weather information, to offer the right information in the right format at every stage of the renewable wind energy cycle.”

Combining its experience in numerical weather prediction, years of investing in research and development, and its capability for merging techniques and observational data, the Met Office helps customers manage the impact of the weather on their renewable energy business. By providing site-specific data and forecasts through the complete business cycle, from site-selection to development, maintenance and operation, the Met Office helps operators predict more accurate energy output forecasts for their assets.

Setting the standards for wind, the Met Office suite of solutions for the renewable energy sector includes:

•  Virtual Met Mast – site-specific wind analysis model-based tool to provide fast and accurate wind farm site screening.
• VisualEyes – an intuitive, web-based weather alert system designed in conjunction with the industry to help manage wind farm assets.
• Wind Production Forecast – a site specific forecasting service for wind farms and wind energy production, designed to help generators make accurate short-term assessments of power production.
• NEW Wind Production Forecast Plus – a site-specific weather forecasting service, with enhanced output accuracy, to help generators make more accurate predictions of energy generation from wind farm assets.

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Press release, October 29, 2012; Image: metoffice