Customer experience with Windplanner

"What makes Windplanner unique, is that it is interactive. We are not looking at a dot on a map or a single static photograph, we can really walk around the turbines. And importantly, residents can move the turbines to create a setup that is acceptable for them."

Rob Rietveld Director of the Dutch Association for Residents living near Wind Turbines (NLVOW)

Rob Rietveld is director of the Dutch Association for Residents living near Wind Turbines (NLVOW). He got acquainted with The Imagineers through other 3D visualization projects and his attention was specifically triggered when The Imagineers developed Windplanner. He has used Windplanner during several discussion sessions with residents.

Rietveld says: “What makes Windplanner unique, is that it is interactive. We are not looking at a dot on a map or a single static photograph, we can really walk around the turbines. We see the correct size of the turbine and we can look at it from different angles and distances. And importantly, residents can move the turbines to create a setup that is acceptable for them. This opens up the discussion with other scenarios than the ‘pre cooked’ scenarios by authorities or developers.”

At these discussion sessions, roughly 8-9 residents are present to talk about the impact of wind turbine plans. Rietveld: “We present different scenarios and this always gives rise to many questions. At the most recent session, we showed 12 different scenarios. As we made a very realistic representation with Windplanner, this discussion was much more focused.”

Rietveld likes the feature of adding 360°pictures. “When Google Street View is not available close to the wind park’’ I can customise Windplanner with other pictures.”
Rietveld concludes: “Windplanner is a very helpful tool to create clarity about wind park plans. Residents that live close to the wind park get a clear idea of the plans and they can weigh the different scenarios.”