Focus on 3Tier

3TIER are an international company that uses weather science to help clients manage the risk of weather-driven variability. It’s not just data, it’s practical and actionable intelligence. The company started in 1999 with the philosophy that their clients’ financial success will propagate a sustainable future powered by renewable energy.

They boast a world-class team of atmospheric scientists with expertise in wind, solar and hydro power generation.  They have offices servicing North America, Europe, India, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. They rank among the fastest-growing companies in the US.

Their Chied Executive is Craig Husa

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Craig has over 20 years of leadership experience in high-growth, technology companies. Craig  earned a MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS, with distinction, in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. As an officer in the Navy, he also received advanced training and qualifications in nuclear engineering and served on submarines. He then served at CE for a number of companies prior to 3Tier.

Craig talked about 2012-13 and the future in a recent statement.  He said that helping mitigate the risk of renewable energy development and production is our core service and area of expertise.

He anticipates a greater need for renewable energy risk management in the growing markets of India, China and Latin America in the coming year. In India, the company are already working closely with the Indian Regulatory Authority as well as wind owners and operators to shape and fulfill forecasting regulations, which will help manage the country’s large and growing wind capacity.  New wind power projects in China are increasingly scrutinized and there is a more sophisticated selection process for approval.

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The company have Provided power forecasts for 43 GW of installed capacity and assessed over 800 wind and solar projects on six continents. Craig says that this gives 3Tier a unique insight into weather-related risk and resource variability. In these uncertain time insights are critical to the future of renewable energy and will share their perspectives at numerous events in 2012, including the Bloomberg NEF Summit, Infocast’s Wind Finance and Investment Summit and EWEA 2012, just to name a few.

Despite the ups and downs of 2011, Craig’s belief in renewable energy’s promising future is unwavering.  He says “Even in this time of financial and political crisis, there lies an opportunity to learn from the past and significantly improve upon the status quo. This is a challenge for the entire industry and will be our focus at 3TIER for 2012 and beyond.”

3Tier have a particularly potent weapon in their arsenal to remove the veil from the vagaries of wind power and the finances required to harvest it; the world’s first real-time, interactive wind asset valuation tool. WVAL enables investors to value more than 3,400 wind projects around the world at the click of a button, using the most up-to-date tariff, turbine and wind resource data in the world. It was developed in association with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“WVAL brings groundbreaking transparency to the world of wind project valuation” said William Young, Chief of Staff at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London. “Combining BNEF’s financial, economic and market data with 3TIER’s long term wind resource information we have created a platform for our clients to evaluate wind projects quickly, efficiently, consistently and with confidence.”

To give an example, the Enel Salbatica I wind farm is located in southwest Romania, near the port city of Tulcea which is some 65km (40 miles) up the Danube from the Black Sea. The 30-megawatt facility generates power from 15 turbines made by Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica SA. It belongs to Enel Green Power and started generating electricity in January 2011.

To value the project, simply go to https://www.bnef.com/Wval, enter “ENEL” in the instant search filter and click on Enel Salbatica I Wind Farm.

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WVAL uses the latitude and longitude of the project to tap an hourly wind-speed time series data set derived from a comprehensive weather model provided by 3TIER. The WVAL model then calculates the expected annual power generation for the location based on the wind data and BNEF’s proprietary database of wind turbines and their performance characteristics.

Just  how well will 3Tier do in 2012? They certainly have the confidence and flair to do well- and to benefit all those who see renewable energy as of great importance to the planet in the next 20 years and beyond.