Wind-farm operators need a bit more detail in their weather forecasts than the evening news offers. “Weather information must provide power purchasers with a forecast for tomorrow’s electrical production at hourly intervals,” says Dr. Dan Kirk-Davidoff, chief scientist, climate and weather services for MDA Information Systems Inc, in Washington, DC (mdainformationsystems.com). “That requires a wind…

To improve wind farm energy production, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) researchers are launching a study to make visible the invisible “wakes” produced behind wind turbines. Wind-farm designs have long known that wind turbine rotors generate ripples, waves, and other atmospheric disturbances downstream of turbines. “The turbulence can damage turbines downstream, and harm productivity,”…