Leading international renewable energy consultancy Natural Power has been appointed as the construction hydrological support team at Drone Hill Wind Farm in Scotland for global power company AES Wind Generation. The wind farm will come with a community fund for local initiatives and will comprise of 22 turbines with a maximum height of 76 meters. After receiving permission on the 24th of November 2008, construction is set begin this year.

Natural Power’s hydrology team, led by Kelly Wyness, completed the private water supply assessment as part of the site planning conditions in 2009. The team have now also been appointed to carry out private water sampling and watercourse flow monitoring on the site with tests determining if the construction of the wind farm is having any effect on the underlying hydrological regime.

The team’s work takes place pre, during and post construction and all methodologies have been approved following consultation with SEPA, The Scottish Environment Protection Agency. To help quantify any effects on the site hydrology the team will also be downloading data from a site specific rain gauge to help determine if effects can be associated with climatic conditions or wind farm construction.

Hydrologist Kelly Wyness commented: “Everyone in the Natural Power hydrology team enjoyed the initial assessments and we are looking forward to the next phase of the project having now been officially appointed. With 22 turbines it will be a good sized wind farm to perform these studies - the team has recently been expanding and new recruits will instantly gain practical site experience on this project alongside more senior members of the team.”

To find out more about Natural Power or its hydrology team visit www.naturalpower.com or why not sayhello@naturalpower.com