OutSmart Picks Whiffle Forecasts for Wind Projects

OutSmart has contracted Whiffle to provide weather and production forecasts for a portfolio of wind energy projects, including the 600MW Gemini offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.

Whiffle, a spin out of the Delft University of Technology, has developed a model that includes the application of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) for operational weather forecasting based on high-performance computing systems.

The ultra-high resolution weather model also includes the simulation of wind farms and clusters of wind farms to produce power output day-ahead forecasts for operations and trading purposes, the Dutch company said.

“OutSmart is known for the importance of predictability in operations and maintenance of renewable energy assets. This is particularly important for day-ahead power trading forecasts,” said Remco Streppel, Head of Operations at Outsmart.

“Innovations are important to increase this predictability and our team has been working with Whiffle for some time to include this new technology in our services. This cooperation now results in a service contract and we look forward to continue the cooperation in other areas.”

According to Whiffle, the strength of the model is that calculations remain very close to the laws of physics that dictate the processes in the real atmosphere and does not rely on modeling assumptions often found in traditional weather models.

“We are very glad to have the confidence of a specialist asset management company like OutSmart, and to contribute to the success of renewable energy projects,” said Remco Verzijlbergh, Director of Operations at Whiffle.