Aided by Market-Leading Remote Sensing Technology, Australian Boco Rock Wind Farm Receives Planning Permission

NEWCASTLE, Australia and SOMERVILLE, Mass., Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Wind Prospect CWP (WPCWP), one of the most successful independent renewable energy developers in the world, today announced it has received planning permission to build the Boco Rock Wind farm near Nimmitabel, New South Wales, Australia. The Boco Rock Wind Farm – which will comprise 122 turbines with a maximum capacity of 270MW – is the first New South Wales wind farm development project for Wind Prospect and the second largest in the wind-rich state of NSW.

In developing Boco Rock, WPCWP took full advantage of the wind industry's market leading remote sensing measurement technology developed by U.S.-based Second Wind, Inc. WPCWP deployed three Triton® Sonic Wind Profilers at various locations around the Boco Rock site to measure hub height wind speeds and to validate the shear profile above the height of the site's meteorological towers. The meteorological towers were instrumented with Second Wind's Nomad 2 data loggers.

The first Triton was deployed on the Boco Rock site in August 2009. "The Tritons were an essential part of our resource assessment campaign," says Ed Mounsey, Development Director of WPCWP. "They gave us a much improved understanding of the site's hub height wind resources, allowing us to reduce the uncertainty of our power performance and annual energy production forecasts." The towers and Nomad 2 data loggers were installed in 2008.

WPCWP also has Tritons deployed at two other sites in New South Wales and plans to continue using Tritons as key components of their wind assessment studies.

Triton is an advanced remote sensing system that uses sodar (sound detection and ranging) technology to measure wind at higher heights than the previous tower-based standard. By measuring wind speeds at the turbine rotor's hub height and beyond (up to 200 meters), Triton reduces uncertainty in annual energy production (AEP) forecasts. Triton's ease of deployment also streamlines the wind farm development process.

Triton has achieved global market leadership and continues to be adopted by the world's leading wind farm developers as a way to complement met tower-based measurements. Triton has been in commercial use since April 2008 with over 200 Tritons now installed worldwide.

Construction will begin at Boco Rock in mid-2011, with a target completion date in 2013. The wind farm has the potential to produce over 840,000 megawatt hours of electricity per annum - enough energy to supply over 120,000 average Australian homes.

"Congratulations are due to WPCWP on reaching this important milestone in the Boco Rock Wind Farm project," says Larry Letteney, Second Wind's CEO. "WPCWP has for years been a leader in Australian wind development and the execution of advanced wind measurement techniques that reduce financial risk and ensure project success. As they develop their pipeline of wind farms in Australia, we look forward to Tritons adding value to their future projects. Wind Prospect is a long time customer of Second Wind and we appreciate their trust in our company."

About Second Wind

Second Wind develops wind measurement systems that make wind power pay off for consumers, investors and the environment. The company's technology provides wind farm developers with the bankable wind data they need to plan, finance and operate highly efficient wind generation facilities. Second Wind's systems are making wind farm development profitable in 50 countries on seven continents. Second Wind's systems include Triton, the wind industry's leading remote sensing system, Nomad 2 wind data logger systems, the ProMast 60, a 60-meter meteorological mast and the SkyServe® web-based data service. For more information about Boston-based Second Wind, please visit www.secondwind.com.

SOURCE Second Wind