Wind Energy Advisory Services

Integrating Data, Technology, and Economics

As state RPS target percentages increase each year, wind energy projects are playing an increasingly important role. Wind energy poses a number of challenges for buyers and sellers: forecasting the probability distribution of energy output, obtaining transmission upgrades, managing uncertain power and REC prices, monetizing tax benefits, arranging financing, and negotiating contracts for the sale of energy, capacity and RECs. Control area operators or ISOs / RTOs have system planning and operation issues tailored to the integration of new wind projects – maintaining grid reliability, assuring dependable capacity, load-following, and automatic generation control performance. LAI has represented ISOs / RTOs, state regulatory commissions, utilities, and debt lenders on diverse wind-related matters. Our consultants understand onshore and offshore wind project performance and transmission issues, and how appropriate contract structures can balance revenue uncertainty and fixed costs. IMPLAN related socio-economic analysis of direct, indirect and induced economic impacts is part of LAI’s economic benefit/cost analysis. To provide transactional support, our financial expertise can be applied to test alternative hedging strategies and capital structures under different REC trading regimes.

LAI can develop probabilistic distributions of wind energy production for long-term potential studies, based on standard wind data and performance data for specific wind turbine models. We advise clients on wind resource challenges associated with transmission interconnections, cost allocation for grid upgrades, and intermittency effects. Our facility with market dynamics provides a quantitative framework for the assessment of key decision factors. We help our clients assess wind project economics under the full range of market, performance, and financial scenarios. We have authored studies that identified the maximum theoretical wind potential and optimal sites for ISO-NE and other clients.

LAI’s wind expertise includes:

• Transactional support
• Wind data and unit performance analysis
• Energy and capacity factor probability distributions
• Transmission integration and reliability
• Project economics and enterprise valuation
• Strategic hedging assessments
• Environmental impact assessment