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.
“This affordable tool lets wind project developers and financiers pinpoint promising sites and begin the process of assessing their longterm potential,” says Dr. Scott Eichelberger, 3TIER director of resource assessment. “It lets them more quickly and accurately evaluate sites before deciding whether to invest in more costly on-site observational campaigns and in-depth resource assessments that are required to generate ‘bankable’ production estimates.”
3TIER developed the prospecting tools because of demand for affordable access to high-resolution wind resource data. The company offers instant, online access to the entire continental US or just a specific region of interest for purchase. The 90-m tools provide high-resolution wind resource data at multiple hub heights via an online interface that allows clients to view annual and monthly mean wind speed data, Weibull distribution parameters, and wind direction data. In addition to viewing the data online, the company allows downloading data in GIS format for a small incremental cost.
To produce an accurate and cost-effective 90-m resolution dataset, 3TIER says they used a combination of mesoscale numerical weather prediction modeling and its own proprietary downscaling technology. Blending the two approaches achieves a commercially desirable balance between cost and accuracy, offering an affordable tool to effectively manage wind resource risk during the preliminary stages of project development.
3TIER www.3tier.com
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