As the Brazilian wind power market experiences exponential growth, wind farm developers are gaining access to the latest in remote sensing technology for measuring wind potential and financing their wind projects. Thanks to an agreement between Fortaleza-CE-based engineering and manufacturing firm Hatec Neves Engenharia and Boston, Mass.-based wind information technology firm Second Wind, the wind industry's leading remote sensing system will be offered to the wind industry throughout Brazil.

"Brazil has large unpopulated areas and miles and miles of coastline, and is an ideal place for the expansion of wind power. Now the industry will have access to the best measurement technology to help make sure that wind farms are developed and operated profitably," said Emilio Neves of Hatec Neves.

Hatec Neves signed an agreeement with Second Wind to sell Triton® Sonic Wind Profiler remote sensing systems and Nomad 2 Wind Data Loggers throughout Brazil. The firm has been certified to install and service the remote sensing systems. Together with Second Wind, Hatec Neves will offer a Triton Demonstration Event in Fortaleza on November 16, 2011 where wind developers and wind industry representatives will see a Triton in operation and learn how Triton can help improve wind farm project financing and other applications.

Triton improves wind farm project financing by measuring wind data at the hub height of a turbine - data that is required as part of the wind farm project financing process and is difficult to obtain using meteorological towers. Using Triton - a self-powered system that operates autonomously - wind farm developers can obtain measured data that they could not get from shorter meteorological towers, and can reduce uncertainty in their annual energy projection (AEP) estimates.

Hatec Neves manufactures, supplies, installs, and services meteorological towers for the wind industry. With 120 employees, Hatec Neves has served the measurement needs of Brazil's wind power industry for 10 years and has installed more than 300 weather stations with towers up to 120 meters tall. "We see Triton as an important complement to the tower services we provide. Second Wind has a reputation throughout the wind industry for leadership in technology and customer support," said Pedro Hacke of Hatec Neves.

"Brazil is a promising wind energy market, and we are honored to partner with a leading wind energy service firm to help support Brazil's wind power development goals," said Lee Alnes, Second Wind VP Sales. The Global Wind Energy Consortium (GWEC) estimates that Brazil could have as much as 5,000 MW of wind installed by the end of 2013.