Woolnorth Wind Farm Holding has recently announced it is receiving weather guidance and lightning detection services from MetraWeather Australia.
Woolnorth owns and operates three wind farms leveraging Tasmania’s world class wind resources to generate approximately 9% of Tasmania’s electricity needs. MetraWeather is a specialist weather insights company that serves energy generators and distributors in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and South East Asia, and has built an enviable reputation for weather insights for renewable energy operations.
The Woolnorth farms at Bluff Point, Musselroe and Studland Bay in Tasmania are receiving these services from MetraWeather:
- A fully-automated ‘traffic light’ threat matrix that highlights safety risks to within defined weather thresholds
- Probabilistic hourly wind forecasts
- Lightning detection
- Lightning proximity alerting via email and SMS
MetraWeather sales delivery and account manager, Angelo Portelli says highly-accurate, site-specific weather forecasts are vital to enabling Australian wind farms to maximise production of renewable energy into the national energy market.
“Forecasting is intrinsic to optimising the performance of wind farms. It’s vital that the significant investments in renewable energy leverage every available scientific and technological advance available.
“Our forecasting will provide Woolnorth with actionable insights that both optimise the available Tasmanian wind asset, whilst mitigating the risks of severe weather events, such as lightning strikes, that can negatively impact operations, “ said Portelli.
“Our weather guidance is integral to protecting our operators’ infrastructure and enabling Woolnorth to maintain efficient maintenance and health and safety programmes in-the-field.”