Energy management and automation specialist Schneider Electric has signed a long-term international wind energy weather forecasting agreement with Vaisala.
The agreement followed a two-month live trial, whereby Vaisala demonstrated its performance in accuracy metrics across multiple forecast horizon times at several independent wind farm sites in North America and Europe.
As a result of the deal, developers and operators can now benefit from wind power and weather forecasting information and a software platform along with all of the other management tools Schneider Electric offers within its online decision-support application.
Schneider Electric’s WeatherSentry Wind Energy Edition uses mapping to provide weather forecasting for wind farms around the world.
It includes alerting technology to signal wind farm personnel about approaching lightning or other severe weather and includes dynamic location support through mobile device apps.
The application helps wind operators enhance situational awareness and efficiently schedule operations by assessing their risk with respect to multiple weather parameters so proactive and reactive wind project site activity can be better managed, monitored, and planned.
Schneider Electric vice president and general manager of weather Jon Reifschneider said: “It was crucial that we develop a strong commercial partnership with a trusted renewable energy forecast provider.
“Vaisala consistently demonstrated forecast accuracy and an unrivalled understanding of the market.
“Through its first class forecasting technology, Vaisala provides us a strong source of data that can be delivered globally to enable further development and growth,”
Image: Schneider Electric HQ (Schneider Electric)
