ScottishPower Renewables to use Met Office weather forecast tool

ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) has signed a two-year contract with the Met Office, the UK's national meteorological service, the latter said on Wednesday.

The company will use Met Office's upgraded VisualEyes software to monitor real-time and forecast conditions across its portfolio of wind farms from its control centre at the 539-MW Whitelee wind farm near Glasgow.

"With 30 sites across the country to monitor, it's vital to have a system that's accurate and that we can trust," said Mark Gailey, control centre manager of SPR.

The VisualEyes web-based weather monitoring and alerting system provides real-time data for the last two hours, as well as forecast periods from six hours to 14 days ahead. The product helps energy asset managers and wind farm operators manage the safety of on-site personnel and plan cost-efficient maintenance schedules, the Met Office said.

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