Vaisala is entering the final 12-month stage of a $5m project in conjunction with the US government to assess the causes of wind speed variability and its impact on wind energy generation in complex terrain.
The three-year Wind Forecasting Improvement Project with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is funded by the Department of Energy.
The data collected aims to enhance the underlying forecasting models used to predict wind variability in areas of challenging topography, Vaisala said.
It will be used to upgrade existing forecasting models, with a focus on 0-24 hour ahead wind forecasts, the company said.
The first 18 months of data, collected by over 200 devices, has been made freely available.
It covers measurements over a 50,000 square km area of the Columbia River Gorge region.
Vaisala manager of advanced applications James McCaa said: “Deploying cutting-edge measurement technology on an unprecedented scale has allowed our project to collect high-value data in an understudied and complex domain.
“The resultant data, much of it related to seldom measured atmospheric phenomena, will enable the profound enhancement of current forecasting methodologies, with applications throughout the wind energy sector, both in the US as well as overseas.”
Image: Pixabay
Vaisala measures up in US
DoE project to collect wind data in complex terrain enters final 12 months
By EBS