Gaelectric deploy duo of consultancies, and leading lidar provider, ZephIR, and sees increase of 2% on P90/P50 for the long-term energy production expected to be achieved at its 42 MW Dunbeg Wind Farm.

Wind energy developer Gaelectric’s 42 MW Dunbeg Wind Farm located in County Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland, is currently under construction and energisation is scheduled for mid-2014. The Dunbeg wind farm development consists of 14 Enercon E82 3.0MW wind turbines, at a hub height of 84 m.

In April 2013, Gaelectric deployed a ZephIR 300 wind lidar to verify the wind shear at the site, and in June 2013, leading consulting companies Natural Power and DNV GL (formerly GL Garrad Hassan) were commissioned to undertake an independent energy production assessment.

Full operational availability of the ZephIR 300, and an extremely high data recovery rate at all measurements heights was achieved. Results have shown excellent agreement between the cup anemometry and ZephIR 300. The wind measurement campaign consisted of two meteorological towers at heights of 50 m and 70 m and equipped with 1st Class anemometry. Correlations conducted on the co-located 50m meteorological tower and ZephIR data, found a co-efficient of determination (R2) equal to or greater than 0.99 and a regression slope within the industry accepted standard of ±2% of unity being observed at all heights.

The deployment of ZephIR 300 saw the P90/P50 ratio increase by 2%, and has given Gaelectric greater confidence in its assessment of the long-term energy production expected to be achieved at the Dunbeg project. John Conaghan, Gaelectric’s Senior Wind Engineer, cited that the deployment had certainly met their expectations and that ZephIR 300 had demonstrated its wind measurement capability.

Gaelectric’s ZephIR 300 has since been deployed on the 12 MW Monnaboy Wind Farm in County Derry~Londonderry and is currently on its next deployment on the 16.1 MW Smulgedon Wind Farm, which is located in County Derry~Londonderry, all for similar purposes.

Gaelectric have secured funding to develop 13 onshore wind farm projects across the island of Ireland, totalling a capacity of 164 MW. This round of projects will consist exclusively of Enercon wind turbines and are scheduled to be all operational by 2017. Owing to Gaelectric’s experience of ZephIR wind lidar, Gaelectric have since acquired a ZephIR Dual Mode (DM).

Patrick McClughan, Gaelectric’s Commercial Manager in Northern Ireland, discusses:

“The Dunbeg wind farm development is the latest in a portfolio of renewable energy projects that Gaelectric is progressing in Northern Ireland. The commencement of construction of our Dunbeg site marks yet another milestone for our business in Northern Ireland and further strengthens Gaelectric’s platform in the energy market. Dunbeg will not only provide a significant boost to Northern Ireland’s renewable energy capacity, it will also generate jobs, support increased workforce skills and provide economic activity in the area.”

Mr McClughan added:  “Gaelectric has completed an extensive consultation programme to update local communities on the Dunbeg project and a locally administered community fund in the region of £1million will be established to support community projects in the area.”

John Conaghan, Gaelectric’s Senior Wind Engineer commented on the benefits of deploying appropriate technology; “By harnessing leading measurement technology such as ZephIR 300 and combining it with world-class consultancy experience from Natural Power and DNV GL, we are able to maximise our project investment accuracy. Based on our experience of ZephIR to date, the system features heavily in our forward looking plans for both energy assessments but also on optimising existing assets across our growing fleet of wind turbines. This is cutting edge technology leading to very clear economic benefits for Gaelectric.”

Ian Locker, ZephIR Lidar’s Managing Director welcomed the project news noting: “We have worked with Gaelectric for a number of years and are very pleased to see ZephIR 300 providing a significant return on investment with more accurate P90/P50 figures when compared to traditional anemometry alone. Developing positive working relationships with developers, leading consultancies such as Natural Power and DNV GL, and turbine manufacturers such as Enercon, ensures that we are delivering an industry leading product that satisfies real world requirements and hopefully goes beyond.”

ENDS

Contact details:
Alex Woodward
ZephIR Lidar
alex.woodward@zephirlidar.com

Notes for Editors

About Zephir Ltd.

“Celebrating 10 years of wind lidar excellence”

In 2003 we released the first commercial wind lidar, ZephIR®, exploiting decades of research at UK government Research & Development establishment QinetiQ. Designed specifically for the wind industry ZephIR has paved the way for many of the remote sensing devices seen in the market today. Our original lidar technology continues to innovate with world firsts such as taking measurements from a wind turbine spinner and being the first to deploy an offshore wind lidar, both fixed and floating. ZephIR has also now amassed more than 3.5 million hours of operation across 650+ deployments globally spanning a decade of commercial experience. For wind measurements onshore, offshore and in turbine-mounted applications, ZephIR provides accurate, reliable finance-grade wind data.

Zephir Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fred. Olsen Ltd. – established in the UK in 1963 with business interests primarily focussed on renewable energy, including ZephIR.

Visit www.zephirlidar.com for more information.

NOTES TO EDITOR

Gaelectric is a renewable energy development and energy storage group which, since its establishment in 2004, has demonstrated its ability to create and develop out an extensive portfolio of renewable energy projects in multiple markets. Gaelectric’s business is centred on three core areas of activity, namely –

• On-shore wind energy development and operations in Ireland
• Energy storage systems (Gaelectric Energy Storage) and off-shore energy development
• On-shore wind energy development in the United States

Gaelectric has offices in Belfast, Dublin, Chicago and Great Falls (Montana).

About Gaelectric in Northern Ireland:

• Gaelectric has nine windfarm projects at various stages in Northern Ireland. The company officially opened its first operational wind farm in Northern Ireland in May 2013. The £20million Carn Hill wind farm is located in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. The company is currently constructing their 42 MW Dunbeg project just outside Limavady, it is expected to be commissioned mid 2014.
• Gaelectric currently employs ten people in its Technical office based at Clarendon Quay, Belfast. The Belfast team is dedicated to all technical aspects of renewable energy development.  Key activities include wind farm design; feasibility studies; land acquisition; site selection/evaluation; due diligence; grid feasibility study; operations and maintenance.
• Gaelectric is also leading the field of energy storage with the development of a unique Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) facility in Larne, Co. Antrim. Due to its unique geology Larne has the potential to be at the cutting edge of energy storage.  This energy storage facility will maximise the potential of renewable energy, whilst stabilising electricity prices and emissions.

For all media enquiries please contact Janet McKay, PR Consultant on behalf of Gaelectric, on 07968 817514 or email janet@janetmckaypr.com