Technology

Pattern uses proprietary technology to maximize performance and minimize impact.

Identifying Patterns
Our in-house meteorological modeling system assists us in pinpointing the most ideal wind resources in a given market.

The high-performance system's over 250 inline computers simulate atmospheric weather conditions over long periods of time. The proprietary software is a modified version of the program used by meteorological experts for numerical weather prediction. By adapting it to fit our data needs, we can automate and analyze certain variables to study them more closely.

Integrating this simulated data with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping technology provides spatial analysis and allows our development team to visualize a site multi-dimensionally by applying several features simultaneously instead of one. We can look at key parameters such as elevation, land use, and environmentally-sensitive areas as layers of the same map to see how they interact. By viewing features together and not in isolation, emerging patterns – and optimal sites – are easier to pinpoint.

A Lighter Footprint
Pattern's team of scientists pioneered the world's first use of groundbreaking MERLIN SCADA radar technology to protect avian populations at our Gulf Wind project.

This system detects approaching birds in real time. It can automatically activate safety responses, including the idling of turbines, if needed. This radar adaptive management strategy significantly reduces the project’s potential impact on migrating birds.

We have implemented this system at our Gulf Wind project. Our development team voluntarily completed extensive environmental pre-construction studies during nearly four years of development. On-the-ground ornithologists used the MERLIN system to study the area's birds, their habitat and migration patterns. The system has collected 24-hour data since 2007, creating the largest data set of its kind of any wind project in North America.