Technical Services
Feasibility
Assessing The Viability Of Your Project
At Locogen we provide feasibility services for a wide range of renewable and energy efficiency technologies, including wind, solar, hydro, biomass, anaerobic digestion, energy storage and voltage optimisation systems. Drawing on our extensive experience, we can provide you with a comprehensive life-cycle assessment of the feasibility of your wind project.
Specific Areas That Our Feasibility Studies Will Cover Include:
- Site selection
- Technology options appraisal
- Planning / environmental
- Grid connection assessment
- Energy usage / yield assessments
- Outline project design
- Financial modeling, including capital & operationalcosts
- Project timescales
- Risk assessment
- Business case
Options Appraisal
Assess The Technical And Financial Feasibility Of Your Options For Renewable Heat, Power And Transport Systems
The overarching aim of an options appraisal is to identify, assess and communicate all project-specific options for renewable heat, power and/or transport systems to the client, on the basis of technical and financial feasibility, whilst also considering development risks as well as social and environmental aspects.
These projects are often split into two phases, firstly considering client goals, digesting the available information and data and performing a desktop site assessment to identify constraints and opportunities for renewable energy systems. To support this, the project location’s demand and renewable energy resource is quantified using industry standard modelling and databases. The client is provided with an initial report to summarise the options available and their relative merits based on high level cost/benefit analysis and is then supported to make the decision as to which viable options are to be shortlisted for further investigation.
In the second phase, the viable technologies or systems are considered in further detail through use of an annual energy flow model in half-hourly discretisation, which is used to determine the optimum scale of each technology. The energy flow model is also used to calculate expected financial returns and lifetime emissions of the proposed energy system. Additionally, any relevant planning and grid requirements are considered along with other project risks, as are operational and maintenance burdens for each technology. The findings of this second phase are communicated in a report, along with recommendations, which the client can use as a basis for decision making when considering the progression of their project towards development.
Design
From Survey To Detailed Project Design
During the project’s design phase, Locogen carries out the role of the owner’s engineer to manage the design and development of the project.
We begin by arranging the surveys and studies required to carry out the detailed design of your system. These typically include:
- Detailed resource assessments
- Transport studies
- Topographical surveys
- Ground investigation studies
- Ecological surveys
Surveys and Assessments
Detailed resource assessments for solar, wind and hydro projects are carried out in-house by our Technical Services Team. We use industry standard processes and leading software packages to ensure accurate and bankable resource assessments. These allow our engineers to select the right technology and scale for your site.
Where survey works are not carried out by our Technical Services Team, our project managers will scope the works required and procure engineers or contractors to carry out the surveys for our clients. Over the years we have developed close relationships with the engineering firms and contractors that are preferred by the main lenders and technology providers. This minimises issues during the funding and construction phase.
Project Design
The results of the survey works are used by specialist engineers to design the whole project. This includes:
- Detailed technology selection
- Civil and structural design
- Electrical design
- Grid engineering studies
Throughout the design phase, Locogen carries out the role of the Principle Designer under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 to manage the safe design and development of the project.