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Karen
Conover, CEO
Ms. Conover has over 20 years of experience with wind energy
technology and other renewable energy applications. She is a Past President and
current member of the AWEA Board of Directors and she served as Chair of
WindPower ‘96. Her work includes wind resource assessment, project design,
technical due diligence, site selection, feasibility studies, financial and
economic analysis, bid preparation and evaluation, project development, policy
evaluations, training, testing, construction oversight, performance evaluation,
and O&M planning. Ms. Conover has conducted wind energy work for projects and
programs throughout the U.S. and in over twenty countries. Her clients include
the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, USAID, Interamerican
Development Bank, Institute of International Education, numerous domestic and
international utilities and developers, U.S. DOE, NREL, U.S. DOD, and EPRI. She
has authored numerous publications on wind energy technology and applications,
and is frequently asked to speak at technical meetings, training courses and
conferences. Ms. Conover holds an M.S. in Energy Systems Engineering from the
University of Arizona and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science
from Duke University.
Robert
Z. Poore, President
Mr. Poore has 25 years of experience in the design, testing,
and analysis of wind energy systems. He has been the investor’s independent
engineer on multiple projects and led many due diligence investigations,
engineering design and test programs, feasibility and economic analyses, wind
resource assessment projects, research studies, and training programs. In
addition to his technical skills, he is experienced with the financial and
institutional considerations of wind projects and has served as an expert
witness in arbitrations and litigations. His clients include financial
institutions, turbine manufacturers, investors, utilities, insurance companies,
law firms, and government agencies. In 1999, Mr. Poore received the AWEA award
for technical excellence; in 2004, he served as Chair for Global WINDPOWER 2004.
He has also served as a member of AWEA’s Board of Directors, and is the chairman
of the AWEA board’s Research and Development (R&D) committee. Mr. Poore holds a
B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Finance and International
Business.
Stephen
Jones, P.E., Director of Utility & Investor Services
Mr. Jones has over 10 years of experience with engineering
consulting, and five years of experience in the wind energy industry. His work
has focused on technical and economic assessments related to facility and system
improvements, facility siting and permitting, and evaluations of alternative
solutions. Mr. Jones has participated at a variety of levels in independent
engineering evaluations for potential investors, for a number of facilities. His
experience with wind energy development includes technical, economic and
financial analyses of proposed wind energy and power storage projects to support
site selection, permitting, utility interconnection, power sales, financing,
equipment procurement, and operation. Mr. Jones holds a B.S.
degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
Dr.
David Malcolm, Senior Engineer/Analyst
With more than 25 years of professional experience
in the design and analysis of complex structures, Dr. Malcolm is recognized as
one of the wind energy industry's leading analysts, specializing in dynamic
modeling and structural analysis. He also has extensive experience developing
wind turbine loads, assessing causes of failures, evaluating turbine inflow
characteristics, assessing the impact of extreme atmospheric events on
structures and developing certification documentation. Dr. Malcolm has developed
dynamics models of several different wind turbine designs, has been responsible
for structural analysis of blades, towers, welded and cast components, and wrote
a unique piece of software to identify and graphically display the structural
modes of wind turbines. His experience includes application of fracture
mechanics and reliability concepts to wind turbine design and analysis. He has
published numerous papers and holds B.S., M.S. and Doctoral degrees in
Engineering.
Kevin
J. Smith, Project Manager
Mr. Smith is a registered Professional Engineer with over 13
years of professional consulting, project management, and engineering experience
in the wind energy and environmental industries. He has served as an independent
engineer for several wind project investors and conducted feasibility analyses
and wind energy siting activities in the U.S. and abroad. His recent work
includes evaluation of over 900 Department of Defense properties for possible
wind energy development potential including performance of 34 site assessments
and selection of met tower monitoring locations. He has evaluated wind energy
development potential in a variety of environments and locations including
Central and Western U.S., Alaska, Guam, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and U.S.
offshore resources. In support of project investors and lending institutes, Mr.
Smith has performed construction monitoring, turbine inspections, test
verification, and project completion evaluations. He also monitors and evaluates
project operations at a 33 MW wind project, including preparation of monthly
analysis and status reports. Mr. Smith has presented papers and research
findings at U.S. and international conferences and workshops. He holds a B.S.
degree in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at
Buffalo.
Dayton
Griffin, Engineering Project Manager
Mr. Griffin has ten years of wind energy engineering
experience. He has served as a project manager and principal investigator for
several studies concerning composite materials and manufacturing technologies,
structural design, weight, and costs of advanced wind turbine
blade designs. He has developed aerodynamic designs and structural designs for
both conventional blade configurations as well as for blades with adaptive
(bend-twist) properties, and he has evaluated candidate designs based on
aerodynamic performance, structural efficiency, loads mitigation, and
manufacturing cost. Mr. Griffin has designed, conducted and documented numerous
tests including full-scale turbine blade fatigue and static tests, wind tunnel
tests on vortex generators and aerodynamic braking devices, field tests of
turbines with vortex generators, turbine power performance tests, and
dynamometer-based gearbox efficiency tests. He has also developed
certification plans for several wind turbine manufacturers. Mr. Griffin holds
B.S. and M.S. degrees in aeronautical engineering with an emphasis in
aerodynamics and fluid mechanics. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in aeronautical
engineering with an emphasis on wind turbine aerodynamics.
Mark Young,
Testing, Instrumentation and Measurement Manager
Mr. Young has seven years of engineering and project
management experience in wind energy applications and related engineering
fields. His experience includes: power performance and loads measurement,
acoustic noise measurement, aero-elastic simulation for loads and turbine
performance prediction, and component design. He has conducted component design
studies, economic analyses, wind resource analyses, site assessment, feasibility
studies, component failure analysis and Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA).
Mr. Young has extensive field service, installation, troubleshooting, and
testing experience on wind equipment. He has conducted training courses on the
installation of wind monitoring equipment and served as the field test engineer
for a number of power curve and acoustic tests on wind turbines. Mr. Young holds
a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.
Timothy
McCoy, Senior Engineer/Analyst
Mr. McCoy has 20 years of experience in the analysis and
testing of wind energy systems. His areas of expertise include test planning and
conduct, test data analysis, loads development, finite element analysis and wind
turbine controls. He recently served as the lender’s project engineering
representative for a 25 MW wind energy project. He has developed and conducted
test and certification programs on numerous wind turbines and their components
using the NREL/Zond ADAS systems and he has used the results of these tests to
develop design loads and certification documentation. As one of AWT’s principal
customer support engineers, he assisted customers with troubleshooting problems
in the turbine controls, hydraulics and electrical systems. Mr. McCoy has also
developed, and validated through testing, numerous finite element models of
complex structures. He has written numerous computer programs to process and
evaluate test data and he has extensively modified wind turbine controls
software. He also has substantial experience in the evaluation of wind turbine
wakes and wind energy resource assessment. Mr. McCoy holds B.S. and M.S. degrees
in Mechanical Engineering.
Christopher Walford, P.E., Senior Engineer
Mr. Walford has 17 years of experience in
the design and integration of mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems for a
variety of industries, including 3 years as Systems Engineer for a wind-turbine
manufacturer. Most recently, he has specialized in the control and monitoring of
rotating machinery, including closed-loop speed and torque control using
induction motors and drives. His experience includes simulation modeling of the
dynamics of torsional systems. In a project manager capacity, he has been
responsible for estimating, manufacturing oversight and commissioning of
industrial equipment installations in the United States and Europe. Mr. Walford
is a registered professional engineer, and holds B.A. and B.S.M.E. degrees.
Rana Zucchi, Senior Technical Analyst
Mrs. Zucchi has 20 years of experience in the wind energy
industry. She also maintains GEC’s wind data and turbine performance databases.
Mrs. Zucchi has delivered wind energy training courses, spoken at conferences,
and authored a number of wind energy publications. She has conducted wind energy
work in several countries, including Belize, Mexico, Sri Lanka, and China, and
she has specific expertise with small wind applications and village power. She
has also been involved in bid preparation and bid evaluation for wind energy
equipment, project development activities, and project design services. She has
worked with a wide variety of domestic and international clients, including U.S.
DOE, NREL, EPRI, the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank,
utilities and developers, and financial institutions. Mrs. Zucchi holds a degree
in accounting and has completed additional course work in computer science,
mathematics, management skills, and technical writing.
Gordon
Randall, Senior Technical Analyst
Mr. Randall has ten years of experience in professional
consulting, statistical analysis, computer model development, regulatory
compliance, and project management. His responsibilities at GEC include analysis
and reporting of performance data, planning and conduct of turbine performance
tests, and development of systems for evaluation of turbine data. Mr. Randall is
also experienced with spatial analysis of data using geographic information
systems, dispersion modeling, development of Internet-based information
management systems, and risk analyses. He has conducted wind flow modeling,
energy projections, site optimization studies, visualization, and wake
estimations on a number of wind projects and he is familiar with several
different commercially available software programs for wind modeling activities.
His recent work has included an investigation of the operational impacts of wind
energy projects on utility grids, analyses of nighttime wind shear values at
Midwest project sites, development of methods for using nacelle anemometers to
verify performance of wind turbines, technical and financial review of bids for
proposed wind projects, and statistical analysis of operations and maintenance
data for wind energy facilities to forecast future component failures and
associated repair expenditures. Mr. Randall has also presented the results of
research at several wind industry conferences.
Chris Henderson,
Project Engineer
Mr. Henderson has more than three years of technical experience with
wind and other renewable energy technologies. His work includes power performance testing, wind data analysis, creating
visualizations, and remote power system design. While at the University of
Massachusetts, Mr. Henderson was part of the Renewable Energy Research
Laboratory (RERL), where he installed meteorological towers and data acquisition
systems, analyzed wind data, created visualizations, participated in planning
meetings, reviewed emerging technology grants, and helped maintain a 250 kW
ESI-80 wind turbine. His master’s work included modeling of wind/diesel hybrid
systems using Hybrid2 and HOMER computational codes. Prior to his work at GEC,
Mr. Henderson completed Solar Energy International’s Renewable Energy Education
Program, where he gained hands-on experience with small wind, micro-hydro, and biodiesel. Mr. Henderson holds a B.S. degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a M.S. degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
Don Roberts, Project
Engineer
Mr. Roberts has 10 years experience in energy and aerospace
mechanical design. In addition to two years work with a wind turbine
manufacturer performing structural analysis, design, and preparation of
technical documentation, he also has lead engineering experience providing
innovative solutions for the prototype development light aircraft, gas turbines,
and sailboats. He has large manufacturing industry exposure performing
structural design for a large commercial aircraft manufacturer and consulting
experience with the wind industry on a variety of mechanical systems, including
advanced blade and tower design. Mr. Roberts holds B.A. and B.S.M.E. degrees.
Holly
Hughes, Project Engineer
Ms. Hughes has five years of engineering
experience, including work as a systems engineer and project manager at an
innovative energy technology firm and utility engineering experience. She has
conducted feasibility studies and economic analysis for a variety of energy
projects and technologies. She has been responsible for management of
international project teams, engineering system design, product development,
data analysis, and has developed training programs. She has extensive experience
with research, data analysis, and innovative problem-solving and knowledge of
various technical, environmental, regulatory, and economic issues affecting the
energy industry. Ms. Hughes holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from
Tufts University and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an Energy Analysis and
Policy Graduate Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sarah
Meyer, Project Coordinator
Ms. Meyer has been working in the renewable energy industry
for seven years. She coordinates GEC’s wind resource assessment programs and has
primary responsibility for oversight of the met equipment specification,
procurement, installation and maintenance logistics in the Logistics Group. Ms.
Meyer’s work also includes proposal preparation, cost quotes, communication with
clients, delegation of work and coordination with other Met Services staff. She
is also responsible for providing support for miscellaneous analyses and studies
conducted by the company related to wind resource assessments and energy
estimates. Ms. Meyer holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Studies – Natural
Sciences from Northland College in Wisconsin.
For administrative issues, please contact
Betsie McLain.
For accounting issues, please contact
Accounting. In addition to these personnel, GEC maintains
an extensive network of experts in various fields to provide the expertise and
capability required to meet most mechanical system design, development and test
needs.
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