Big changes are underway within the wind forecasting market, with the growing adoption of remote sensing technologies – including sound detection and ranging (sodar) and light detection and ranging (lidar) – that augment traditional meteorological (met) towers and anemometry. As turbine hub heights rise to 100 meters, standard met towers alone will not suffice for…
Wind prospecting at 90 meters
Site assessment and forecasting company 3TIER offers 90-m wind prospecting tools. The web-based service gives wind project developers and financiers immediate access to 90-m resolution wind resource data across the continental US, which the company says is the highest resolution data currently available on-demand. Detailed data reveals how even small terrain features will affect wind power generation, enabling anyone with a financial stake in a project to better manage spatial risk during the earliest stages of project development.
Trends in wind forecasting and site assessments
Economic uncertainty and constrained capital have significantly increased scrutiny of potential wind projects. That makes accurate and timely site assessments more important for reducing financial risk. Even after projects are online, operators continue to look for ways to reduce O&M costs, while incorporating new technology to help them monitor farm conditions and alert them to…