Following a competitive tender process, MeteoGroup has been awarded two contracts by RWE Innogy to provide weather services during the construction of the offshore wind farms Nordsee Ost and Gwynt y Môr in Germany and the UK. Installation for both sites will start late this year. MeteoGroup will provide vessel routing, severe weather alerts, site-specific tidal data and daily forecast services.
With 160 turbines, Gwynt y Môr (GyM) in Liverpool Bay, off the coast of North Wales, will be one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world. First generation of electricity is scheduled for 2013 and full commissioning for 2014. Construction of Nordsee Ost (NSO) comprises the building of 48 wind turbines. First energy production will start mid-2012, with  full commissioning planned for 2013.
Gwynt y Môr and NSO are both located in complex waters and the installation projects require highly accurate forecasting to enable safe, timely and cost-efficient builds. RWE will benefit from MeteoGroup’s market-leading vessel routing services for transits between the base ports and the offshore sites.
Hans Kahle, Technical Director of RWE Innogy´s Offshore Logistic Company (OLC) commented: “RWE Innogy currently has a high volume of renewables projects at various stages of planning and, in order to achieve our ambitious targets, it’s essential that we work with the very best suppliers in the market. MeteoGroup has provided services for RWE before in areas such as trading and power station forecasting and we now look forward to working with them in the offshore wind business.”
Jennie Campbell, MeteoGroup Managing Director added: “Renewable installation forecasting requires specialist maritime meteorological skills and MeteoGroup has proven expertise in this area. Accurate weather forecasting is vital throughout the life-cycle of a wind farm and we are delighted to be working with RWE during the installation of these two major offshore projects.”

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About MeteoGroup:
MeteoGroup is Europe’s largest private sector weather business with a worldwide customer base and operations in ten European countries and the USA.
It is a full-service weather business supplying tailored products to professional, media and consumer markets. Founded in 1986, the company has an unrivalled reputation for quality and innovation in weather forecasting. MeteoGroup provides services for the full life-cycle of renewables installations from power assessment to O&M, installation and power production forecasting.
Expert meteorologists provide forecasts, support, monitoring and consultancy services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition, a dedicated weather modelling team continuously develop MeteoGroup’s in-house systems and forecasting techniques.
The Group is owned by the Press Association, the national news agency for the UK and Ireland.  Offices are located in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

About RWE Innogy
RWE Innogy pools the renewable energy expertise and power plants of the RWE Group. The company plans, builds and operates facilities generating power from renewable energies. RWE Innogy aims to vigorously grow renewable energies in Europe.
Onshore and offshore wind power projects are a focus of the company's activities. However, RWE Innogy will also expand biomass and hydroelectric power. We are also pushing ahead with the development of new technologies for the future. In fact, we plan and operate biogas facilities, wave and tidal power plants as well as solar thermal power plants. In addition, we support innovative companies in their start-up and growth phase by providing short-term finance.
RWE Innogy's Offshore Logistic Company (RWE OLC) delivers all required offshore logistic services along the lifetime of offshore wind farms to secure the realisation and operation of RWE Innogy's offshore wind projects.