AWS Truepower Releases Major Upgrade to openWind® Enterprise Wind Project Design and Optimization Software

ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AWS Truepower, LLC, an international leader in renewable energy consulting and information services, announced a major upgrade to its openWind Enterprise wind project design and optimization software. Among other features, the new edition incorporates the latest IEC recommendations on effects of turbulence and shear on turbine output; the ability to use wind profiles to 200 m from sodar, lidar, and tall towers; and expanded environmental analysis including time-series modeling of shadow flicker and improved noise modeling and reporting.

"The new software enables the analyst to apply adjustments to turbine output for unusual or extreme turbulence and shear based on the latest IEC-recommended methods," explains Nick Robinson, Director of openWind at AWS Truepower and the lead developer. "Now, for each time step, the software calculates the rotor equivalent wind speed and turbulence adjustment based on multi-height wind profiles such as you might get from a lidar, sodar, or tall tower."

"Just as important," Robinson continues, "the framework we've built provides room for user flexibility and a staging point for continued improvements – for instance, incorporating time-varying thermal stability in wake loss calculations."

"This upgrade is aimed squarely at handling complex sites with very large turbines – just the type of situation our Enterprise customers are increasingly facing," said Michael Brower, Chief Technical Officer at AWS Truepower. "I think our customers will be delighted with the new capabilities, many of which respond to their urgent requests in dealing with real-world projects," Brower concluded.

New openWind Enterprise Features

• Capability to accept multi-height profiles from sodar and lidar systems and tall towers (Enterprise)
• Capability to predict how turbine output will be affected by widely varying conditions of turbulence and shear following IEC recommendations (Enterprise)
• Capability to model effects of 10-minute shear profiles on power production (Enterprise)
• Time-series modeling of shadow-flicker mitigation factors (Basic and Enterprise)
• Expanded noise modeling and reporting (Basic and Enterprise)
• Improved treatment of atmospheric non-neutral stability effects on wakes (Enterprise)
• Improved support for integer and floating point data layer conversion (Enterprise)
• Support for multi-air density and multi-turbulence intensity power curves (Enterprise)
• Support for WAsP .wtg turbine files (Enteprise)

The new version of openWind Enterprise is available immediately.  For pricing and additional feature information please visit http://www.awstruepower.com. openWind director Nick Robinson also maintains a blog for openWind learning at http://blog.awsopenwind.com.

About openWind Enterprise:
openWind Enterprise is a wind project design and optimization software application created to provide professional wind developers with a highly configurable toolbox of capabilities for energy capture and beyond. Using industry-leading geographical information systems (GIS) interface, users can optimize for cost of energy, assess deep array impacts, define and analyze strategies for managed shut-down of turbines, and manage uncertainty.

About AWS Truepower, LLC: 
AWS Truepower provides the most accurate, reliable, and innovative renewable energy project development and operations solutions available today. Energy developers, investors, utilities, system operators, and governments rely on the company's 30 years of experience, proven science and technology to reduce uncertainty, mitigate risk, and maximize return on their investments.  Our suite of consulting and advisory services, innovative software, maps, and data products support the complete wind and solar project development lifecycle. From identifying a promising site with advanced GIS analyses to smart resource assessment campaign design, project design and bankable energy assessments, we have the solutions needed to make your vision a reality. Headquartered in New York, AWS Truepower has offices in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Learn more about the company online at awstruepower.com.    

Media Contacts
United States: Lisa Andrews
Ph: (518) 213-0044 x 1044 
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Europe: Santi Pares
Ph: +34 93 448 7265 
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India: Sreenivasa (Sreeni) Krishnamurthy
Ph: +91-96112-78577 
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Brazil: Mireia Casinos
Ph: +55 (41) 8533-8586
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SOURCE AWS Truepower, LLC