Wind chasers fly high: a new initiative is set to improve how industry predicts wind speed as the University of Bristol and LRQA partner technical expertise with science to help generate better data on wind farm performance.
Second-year students studying Bachelor and Master programs in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol will be involved in one of LRQA's latest wind energy initiatives - to develop and improve wind speed analysis and data for trend comparisons through LRQA's 'windiness dashboard'. This product can be used by investors, developers, owners and operators of current wind farms to assess and predict energy production, and at all project stages from planning and development through to operation.
Monitoring, recording and interpreting wind speed trends can be extremely valuable to wind farm investors, developers, owners and operators, enabling wind turbine and farm performance to be assessed and evaluated.
This initiative between the University of Bristol and LRQA provides industry with a unique platform to investigate wind speed and wind farm production trends. It offers the prospect of transformative improvements in predicting future wind power production.
"Wind speed variability remains one of the most pressing issues for developers and operators of wind farms. Wind is inherently variable and this has a significant impact on the financial returns of projects. By providing access to the accurate, clear and concise information the industry demands this project will increase understanding of the risks involved, resulting in better decision making. This initiative with the University of Bristol sets out to investigate, test and deliver a unique platform to industry," says David Pullinger, Technical Lead of Energy Resource Services at LRQA.
It is an initiative which is attracting interest across a sector that is hungry for innovative new products and opportunities to introduce new talent to the wind sector.
Pullinger says: "We want to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists, and this partnership with the University of Bristol is one example of how we are inspiring students in to the world of work, sharing what we do to enhance the global drive for cleaner and more sustainable energy production."
LRQA experts will add further value in to this process by mentoring students in real-life experiences as product owners. "The initiative is great for trying out new ideas and for students to explore technologies and learn software engineering in their computer science degree. We are delighted that we can support students from the University of Bristol in this way, and help support the next generation of technology and renewable scientists," says Pullinger.
Assessing wind trends to enable better decision making
Wind speed trends impact owners, investors and developers of wind farms. The new 'windiness dashboard' by LRQA will help users of this product to assess, evaluate and predict the efficiency and energy production from a wind farm. The data shared will help to build up year on year trends, understand better the siting considerations for wind farm developments and provide a reliable and quality-driven index of wind data.
What does this mean for industry in 2018?
The project has started and will run until April 2018. LRQA and the University of Bristol will publish the outcome of the initiative and its initial findings in May 2018.
"Our solutions approach to improving predictability and reliability ensures that a wide range of future wind farms offshore and onshore stand to benefit from the data we can share through the 'windiness dashboard'. We look forward to working with our partner the University of Bristol and its students on this exciting project."
