Environmental and industrial measurement company Vaisala is partnering with Southeastern Wind Coalition members to evaluate the growth of wind energy within the utilities’ core operating areas.
The group, which includes Southern Company – and subsidiaries Southern Company Services and Alabama Power – and Santee Cooper, will collaborate on a wind feasibility study.
Vaisala said the south-east US region has reputation for low wind resources in comparison to the rest of the country, which has led many developers to overlook it as a potential site for commercial wind energy projects.
But, Vaisala said, as “turbine and resource mapping technologies improve, interest in the region is starting to increase”.
The wind feasibility study will create a wind resource database of the south-east, which will be available to coalition members, as well as a wind resource map at high altitudes, which will be publically available.
Vaisala will install a fleet of its Triton Wind Profilers in key locations in the region to collect data at the hub-heights of modern turbines.
Measurements will be carried out for one year after which Vaisala 3Tier Services, the company’s consulting arm, will complete a high-resolution spatial analysis of the project area both validated and corrected by the Triton field data as well as other data provided by coalition members.
Vaisala global manager of energy services Pascal Storck said: “The south-east is poised for considerable wind energy growth.
“However, before utilities and developers can start to make the most of the region’s wind potential, the industry needs to provide these would-be investors with access to trusted, reliable data.
“That includes comprehensive resource assessment that demonstrates the viability and longevity of south-eastern wind energy as an investment proposition.”
Image: sxc1
