CWP adopts
Second Wind's advanced sodar system as part of standard wind
assessment methodology
Somerville, MA and Warsaw, Poland, May 7, 2009 — During
the last year, Continental Wind Partners LLC (CWP) has acquired a fleet
of 7 Triton™ Sonic Wind Profilers and is using the Tritons as
an essential part of wind assessments throughout central Europe and the
Balkans.
 CWP is a major European renewable energy investor that works in conjunction with local wind farm developers and owners to invest in nascent wind projects. Explains Wind and GIS Specialist Konrad Gorzkowski, "We enter early markets. The wind energy sector in central Europe and the Balkans is growing really fast. One after another, countries are issuing laws that support wind energy projects." CWP invests in large-scale projects from 100-1000 mW and currently is working with developers in Poland, Romania and the Balkan countries.
Commercially released in 2008, the Triton is a portable remote sensing
device that uses advanced sodar to record measurements up to 200 meters
high. Gorzkowski uses Tritons both in preliminary site assessments and
in later-stage wind resource assessments. In preliminary assessments, he
explains, "we would need a building permit for a met tower which often
takes 1-3 months, and we would have to physically deploy a 100 meter tower
which also takes time but with a Triton we can deploy our measurement system
in a matter of days rather than months."
Once a site has been qualified as investable on a preliminary basis,
a Triton is used in conjunction with a meteorological
tower to do a more
advanced assessment. With one 100-meter met tower and one or
two Tritons, a large site can be efficiently profiled. First, the wind
developer and CWP place the Triton next to the met tower to establish a
correlation between the measurements. In field studies, CWP's Tritons have
achieved an extremely high degree of correlation to met tower data – 99%
in one recent Romanian study. "I was really surprised that it fits so well," says
Gorzkowski.
After establishing the validity of the Triton data at a particular site, the Triton can be moved around to do advanced wind assessments throughout the entire site. "For us it's all about reducing uncertainty," Gorzkowski says. "We can't do anything about the wind speed, so to increase project value we reduce the uncertainty of our measurements."
"We're glad to see CWP using Triton as part of their standard practice," says Second Wind's COO, Larry Letteney. "Our technology is gaining acceptance by the investment community based on the need for accurate higher height data and the desire to understand shear and other advanced wind attributes. A strong data package means excellent finance terms and reduced project risk."
About CWP (Continental Wind Partners)
Continental Wind Partners LLC invests in wind park and other renewable energy development projects in central Europe and Australia. Currently it has 20 + wind parks under development in Romania and Poland. For more information please see www.continentalwind.com.
About Second Wind Inc.
Founded in 1980, Second Wind Inc. advances the use of wind data to make wind energy more profitable for owners, painless for operators and practical for consumers. Key products include: Nomad® data logger and tower systems; Triton® sodar systems; SkyServe® satellite wind data service and Phaser® power transducers. Second Wind is headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA, and is privately held. For more information on the Triton sonic wind profiler or SkyServe satellite wind data service and Second Wind's other products, visit www.secondwind.com.
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