Project Operational Assessment Services
ArcVera provides operational assessments (OA), including operational backcast energy assessments (OBEA), for renewable energy projects when they have just a few months of operation or as they come up for refinancing or repowering.
Our analyses are used to inform internal technical decisions, identify possible actions to improve performance, and help sophisticated asset managers reduce their financial uncertainty. ArcVera’s multidisciplinary team of atmospheric scientists, engineers, and data analysts leverage their decades of experience in their careers to provide comprehensive, technical assessments.
Even the best-designed renewable energy projects struggle to meet their pre-construction availability or production estimates. It may be due to the inaccuracy of the preconstruction resource assessment, or it may be that the facility isn’t being operated optimally.
ArcVera helps our clients identify technical causes of underperformance and plan improvements to mitigate further losses or adjust energy-production expectations going forward.
Operational Assessments
Evaluating operational data requires the experience and statistical understanding of how wind, solar, and hybrid energy assets should operate in their unique environments. Applying our proven analytical methodologies, ArcVera’s atmospheric scientists and data analysts evaluate and interpret preconstruction and operational production data.
ArcVera’s engineers and analysts evaluate various available datasets, from coarse monthly production and availability data to high-resolution 100-Hz SCADA data, depending on what is available and needed for the evaluation.
We also review and compare the operations and maintenance (O&M) plans to the actual procedures of field staff to account for excessive availability losses. If ArcVera identifies any sources of underperformance, technical solutions are recommended to mitigate the issue and improve the plant’s efficiency.
For example, technology inspections and root cause analyses (RCA) can provide evidence of serial defects and support insurance claims or litigation. Supply agreements and O&M contracts can be reviewed to identify problems that can be solved in the field.
Operational Backcast Energy Assessments
An informative way to estimate the future performance of a renewable energy asset is with an operational backcast energy assessment (OBEA). ArcVera’s OBEAs use long-term wind speed reference data and operational production measurements to forecast the expected P50. Operational data gives our analysts the necessary insight into performance losses to accurately estimate future net energy production.
Our clients use our OBEAs to inform their budgets and amend their expectations and are essential for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and the development of repowering projects. For repowering OBEAs, the operational data of the existing power plant informs the estimated net energy production of the new, repowered configuration. You can learn more about ArcVera’s other project repowering services here.
In summary, ArcVera’s OA or OBEA quantifies the performance of operating renewable energy assets and delivers answers to our clients. We have the experience and proven methodologies to understand asset performance and give you the technical insights you need to mitigate financial risk. Learn more about our proven methodologies in modeling energy production and request our benchmark study here.
Our operational services include:
«We have been fortunate to work with the ArcVera Renewables team on several key projects, garnering advantages every time.»
WILLEM VAN der VEN
VP Power Operations Enbridge, Inc.
Related case studies
Heart of Texas Wind Project
As a key technical advisor to Scout Clean Energy, ArcVera has provided leading technical support for the Heart of Texas and other wind energy development projects. With the construction of Heart of Texas completed in June 2020, Scout needed to complete a power performance test to verify the wind turbine performance matched the contractual requirements. As the technical advisor for the project through acquisition, Scout requested ArcVera provide its power performance testing (PPT) services. The PPT services began in October 2020, and the project was completed in March 2021. Three separate tests were performed, one for each version of the GE 2-MW wind turbine installed.
* 4 WTGs are the GE 2.8-127 model, and all three of the tested turbines were GE2.8-127
Sweetwater I & II Wind Farms
ArcVera Renewables’ work on the Sweetwater I & II Wind Farms spans the entire life cycle of both projects: initial site prospecting, site visits, defining the wind measurement campaign, development stage wind reports, turbine layout design and micrositing, financing wind energy resource assessment reports, power performance testing, operational assessments throughout project lifetime, independent engineering, and repowering. The Sweetwater development area continues to be a very notable part of wind energy development nationwide.
Request an ArcVera Renewables’
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Adam Smith
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