03-09-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Is There Enough Wind particulaz locarion.Airport wind data on My Site? are generally measured at heights Does the wind blow hard and con- about 20-33 ft(fr10 m)above ground. sistently enough at my site to make a Average wind speeds increase with small wind turbine system economi- height and may be 15%-25%greater cally worthwhile?That is a key ques- at a typical wind turbine hub-height tion and not always easily answered. of 80 ft(24 m)than those measured The wind resource can vary signifi- at airport anemometer heights.The cantly over an area of just a few miles National Climatic Data Center collects because of local tenain influences data from airports in the United States on the wind flow.Yet,there are steps and makes wind data summaries you can take that will go a long way available for purchase.Summaries towards answering the above of wind data from almost 1000 U.S. question. airports are also included in the Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United As a first step,wind resource maps States(see For More Information). like the one on pages 12 and 13 can be used to estimate the wind resource �other useful ind'uect measurement in your region.The highest average of the wind resource is the observa- wind speeds in the United States aze tion of an area's vegetation.Trees, generally found along seacoasts,on �P��ly mnifers or evergreens,can ridgelines,and on the Great Plains; be permanendy deforn►ed by strong however,many azeas have wind �'�ds.This deformity,known as resources strong enough to power a "�flagging,"has been used to estimate small wind turbine economically.The �►e average wind speed for an area. wind resource estimates on this map For more information on the use of generally apply to terrain features that flagging,you may want to obtain are well exposed to the wind,such as plains,hilltops,and ridge crests.Local Wind Speeds Increase with Helpht tenain features may cause the wind E resource at a specific site to differ con- �so _ � siderably from these estimates.More � detailed wind resource information, ,_�._ ��;� ?.•. � •- �'`--,' y� . -�''�^>�?.��r'�s.�<.'' including the Wind Energy Resource ''��`"' ` " Atlas of United States,published by the 120 U.S.Department of Energy(DOE), can be found at the National Wind = Technology Center Web site at www. o,so nrel.gov/wind/and the DOE Wind L Powering America Web site at www. o windpoweringamerica.gov. � so Another way to indirectly quantify the wind resource is to obtain average wind speed information from a nearby airport.However,caution 30 should be used because local terrain influences and other factors may cause the wind speed remrded at o an airport to be different from your o ai �s �oo �za Increase in wind power,%