Wind Energy

At McCombs Frank Roos, we understand that every wind energy project presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Our goal is to identify these and develop creative, cost-effective solutions. We will evaluate your options and help you choose the best way to make it a reality.

Once you have decided how to proceed, we will help define solutions, develop plans and produce design documents. If regulatory approval is required, we will act as project advocates. We are committed to providing the services you need to make your project successful.

Experience in Wind Energy Services

Our staff has been through the process of planning, siting, approving and documenting a major wind energy field. We will apply that knowledge to your benefit.

A Wide Range of Professional Services

McCombs Frank Roos offers a full range of professional services that a project manager may enlist to serve a wind energy client. These include surveying, geographic information systems, engineering, environmental analysis, illustrations and assistance with local government entitlements.

Our Energy Services

Alternatives analysis

Many wind energy projects begin by examining a broad geographic area before narrowing the search. McCombs Frank Roos can use its geographic information technology to map and evaluate information from many primary (field) or secondary (records or remote sensing) sources such as meteorological consultants, topography, exposure, land use, land cover, ownership, access or distance to transmission lines. We can customize any analysis to suit your needs. Our planners and GIS professionals would be most involved with your team in this stage while consulting our surveyors and engineers as needed.

Site selection

As site selection approaches, we can work with you to tighten the criteria, perform field checks and verify parcel corners. Field surveying is the primary service in this step.

Visualization

Accurately portraying the appearance of the proposed wind towers and turbines is often a key step in allaying neighbors’ concerns and winning approval. We can use photo simulation and three-dimensional modeling to build life-like views of a wind field from various vantage points.

Approvals

This crucial approvals stage requires that all applicable regulations are understood and satisfied. Our professionals work as a team under the project manager to minimize surprises and maximize the likelihood of full approval. These skills have been honed at the local, county, state and federal governmental levels.

Our Energy Team

Team Leader – Lance Capistrant

Lance Capistrant is a surveyor whose background includes planning for and siting towers for a 300 megawatt wind farm on 38,000 acre in Colorado plus aligning a 70 mile transmission line. Specifically:

  • -Planning: Aided alternatives analysis and siting by overlaying photogrammetric aerial images and in-house GIS maps.
  • -Siting: Coordinated micro-sitings with survey field crews to position the proposed turbines for the review of the engineers, meteorologists and environmentalists. Applied the latest GPS data software to re-project coordinate datum for turbine locations for all involved contractors.
  • -Documentation: Prepared ALTA land title surveys for the property affected by the wind turbine farm and transmission line. Communicated with the title companies and lenders to resolve issues. Defined and recorded easements and legal descriptions for the transmission line.
  • -Records: Drafted record surveys for the final tower locations, transmission line pole positions and access roads.
  • -Management: Communicated frequently with the client and kept pace with the project schedule.

Surveying Leader – Henry Nelson

Henry Nelson, RLS, has 30 years of surveying experience at McCombs Frank Roos including supervision of several thousand residential, commercial or industrial surveying projects. He has managed surveys for ALTA / ACSM Land Title Surveys, section subdivisions, boundaries, design, rights-of-way, utilities, hydrographics, easements, topography, photometric control and record drawings.

Engineering Leader – Paul Pearson

Paul Pearson, PE, has 35 years of engineering experience at McCombs Frank Roos including service to both private and public sector clients, particularly small communities and townships. Mr. Pearson is the Principal-in-Charge of quality assurance and quality control for MFRA engineering.

Environmental Leader – Todd Ullom

Todd Ullom is a soils scientist and wetland specialist with 17 years of service to both the public and private sectors. He has completed wetland delineations, permitting and monitoring, characterized soils, investigated wetland violations, conducted hydrological studies, monitored surface water quality in wetlands and completed Phase I Environmental Site Assessments.

Geographic Information System Leader – Julie Wotczak

Julie Wotzcak directs GIS services at McCombs Frank Roos. With ten years experience in that discipline, Julie has the ability to combine field survey data, USGS topography, aerial photography, natural resource maps, parcel records and other source information. Julie has worked with surveyors, engineers and planners to portray complex information in understandable ways.

Planning and Government Approvals Leader – Bill Weber

Bill Weber is a land use planner with thirty years experience working with cities, townships and counties. He has led teams of planners, engineers, ecologists, and GIS professionals in alternatives analysis, EIS and facility siting work across the United States.