Fossil-free within a generation is Vattenfall's ambitious goal. To get there, wind power is crucial. Metria has created the GIS solution that helps Vattenfall decide where to develop its wind farms for highest energy efficiency and lowest environmental impact.
Large-scale projects
Wind farms are large-scale projects with major investments and decisions that affect people, nature and the environment for many decades. That's why it's crucial to find exactly the right locations. Where there is enough wind and where the environment, wildlife and people are not disturbed. This is exactly what the WindGIS service helps Vattenfall to achieve.
- "The great advantage of WindGIS is that it is an easy-to-use tool for our wind power developers that allows them to make a lot of decisions on their own without having to consult a GIS specialist," says Anthony Hunt, Head of GIS in Vattenfall's Wind Business Area.
He continues:
- "It can be detailed measurements such as the distance between, for example, the wind turbines and a particular house. But we also use the service to create a national application - instead of just seeing each specific project - and then it works like a wind map for the whole of Sweden. It gives a good estimate of which locations are the best for developing wind power.
All information in one service
In WindGIS, Vattenfall has between 15 and 20 projects, each with specific information for that particular location, which can be turned on and off. Wind developers can quickly see information about topography, vegetation, properties, roads and of course wind. They can also see where there are ancient monuments, national interests, protected species and other values they need to take into account when planning and designing wind farms. It's easy to zoom in, zoom out and make printouts to show stakeholders and decision-makers.
- We can create our own data and maps in the application. It's also handy to be able to download maps and take them offline if we need to do something out in the field, where there isn't always a network connection. This is a great help when we are installing a monitoring mast or a wind measurement tool, for example. The data we input on site can then be synchronized back to the service when we are back in the office.
Anthony Hunt says WindGIS is very well structured and he appreciates Metria's deep knowledge of GIS.
- "Their technical support is always of a very high standard and we have great confidence that Metria can resolve any issues that arise, which can be technically quite complex.
Metria has also helped Vattenfall to develop specific widgets that they have needed," says Anthony Hunt.
- "Whenever we want to develop something, we have very good and fruitful communication with Metria. They really know their way around GIS and come up with excellent ideas on their own that help us to constantly develop and improve the tool.