Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 4
What are Winds?........................................................................................................................................... 5
How Do Winds Form? .................................................................................................................................. 5
Types of winds: ............................................................................................................................................ 6
WHAT IS A WIND TURBINE? .................................................................................................................. 8
Wind Turbine Components........................................................................................................................... 8
Understanding Energy and Power in the Wind .......................................................................................... 10
WIND RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................. 10
WIND CHARACTERISTICS .................................................................................................................... 10
Variation of Wind Speed with Height .................................................................................................... 11
Wind resources assessment......................................................................................................................... 11
SITE IDENTIFICATION ....................................................................................................................... 11
RESOURCE MONITORING ................................................................................................................. 12
Wind Monitoring Campaign Design....................................................................................................... 12
WIND RESOURCE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 12
SITE SELECTION ..................................................................................................................................... 13
Wind speed ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Land topography and geology ................................................................................................................ 14
Grid structure and distance ..................................................................................................................... 14
Economic considerations ........................................................................................................................ 14
Land cost................................................................................................................................................. 14
Electricity market.................................................................................................................................... 15
Wind energy measurements ........................................................................................................................ 15
Horizontal Wind Speed........................................................................................................................... 15
Wind Direction ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Air Temperature...................................................................................................................................... 17
ADDITIONAL MEASUREMENTS ...................................................................................................... 17
Relative Humidity ............................................................................................................................... 17
Global Solar Radiation ........................................................................................................................ 17
“W” Anemometer ............................................................................................................................... 18
Barometric Pressure ............................................................................................................................ 18
Software usage in wind resources assessment: ........................................................................................... 19
Conclusion and findings: ............................................................................................................................ 21
References .................................................................................................................................................. 22
List of figures

Figure 1 cup anemometer............................................................................................................ 16

Figure 2 propeller anemomete.................................................................................................... 16
Figure 3 temperature sensor........................................................................................................ 17
Figure 4 pyranometer ................................................................................................................. 18
Figure 5 w anemometer .............................................................................................................. 18
Figure 6 pressure sensor ............................................................................................................. 19
INTRODUCTION
Wind power technology has become one of the most promising renewable energy technologies for
electricity generation everywhere. It is important to say that wind power is considered one of the
most environmental friendly energy sources on a global scale because it produces no emissions.
However, financial risk is very high in the wind farm development due to various reasons. It can
be reduced if proper wind assessment is done. Wind data particularly, wind speed data are very
critical because a small change in the wind speed at a site can have a significant impact in
determining whether the project is economically viable or not.
Wind power is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy technologies. Usage is on the rise
worldwide, in part because costs are falling. Global installed wind-generation capacity onshore and
offshore has increased by a factor of almost 50 in the past two decades, jumping from 7.5
gigawatts (GW) in 1997 to some 487 GW by 2016.
Wind is used to produce electricity using the kinetic energy created by air in motion. This is
transformed into electrical energy using wind turbines or wind energy conversion systems. Wind
first hits a turbine’s blades, causing them to rotate and turn the turbine connected to them. That
changes the kinetic energy to rotational energy, by moving a shaft which is connected to a
generator, and thereby producing electrical energy through electromagnetism.
What are Winds?
Wind can be defined as air currents or moving mass of air from high pressure areas to low pressure
areas. Typically, air under high pressure normally moves towards areas under low pressure. Thus,
the greater the pressure difference, the faster the flow of air which creates moving air with
considerably strong force. The bulk movement of air occurs in the earth’s atmosphere and the outer
space as well.

In meteorology, winds are defined based on their strength and direction. Short and violent high
speed winds are known as gusts while strong winds over extended durations are known as squalls.
Highly violent and longer-duration winds are linked to various names such as storm, gale, and
hurricane. The pressure difference arises due to temperature changes and varying climate zones
across the planet.

The rotation of the earth is also a significant contributing factor as it brings about what is termed as
the Coriolis Effect. Wind is an important agent of seed dispersal. Contrariwise, strong winds can
cause major destructions to buildings and plants, the spread of wildfires, and leads to soil erosion.

How Do Winds Form?

Winds are formed by moving air masses that begins right from the sun’s radiation. When the sun
hits the land, the heat is absorbed variedly on the surface of the earth. This is because of the
differences in land surface cover such as water bodies, valleys, plains, vegetation, mountains,
cloud cover and desert regions.

As the sun’s radiation unevenly heats the land, the air above the surfaces warms up and starts to
rise because it becomes less dense. As the air rise, a low atmospheric pressure is created. As a
result, the air with cooler temperatures sink and the sinking continues to create higher atmospheric
pressure.

This creates what is commonly called convectional currents. Convectional currents result when
lighter air masses move up because of higher temperatures and are in turn replaced by cooler
heavier air masses and the processes repeats itself again and again. Thus, this is the process that
leads to the formation of winds.

The strength of the winds depends upon the energy of the convectional currents, that is, the higher
the energy, the faster and more violent the winds, and vice versa. Air warms faster over land surfaces
since the land tends to retains heat. On the contrary, air warms at a slower rate because the sun’s
radiation is slowly cooled by the cold water.
They play a part in steering the flow of tropical cyclones that develop above the world’s oceans.
Also, trade winds direct the direction of African dust westward across the Atlantic Ocean into the
Caribbean Sea, and some parts of southeast North America.

Types of winds:
1. Trade Winds

Trade winds are the dominating patterns of easterly surface winds present at the tropics in
the direction of the Earth’s equator. The trade winds primarily blow from the southeast in
the Southern Hemisphere and from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere.
They play a part in steering the flow of tropical cyclones that develop above the world’s
oceans. Also, trade winds direct the direction of African dust westward across the Atlantic
Ocean into the Caribbean Sea, and some parts of southeast North America.

2. Monsoon Winds

Monsoons are seasonal wind in southern Asia blowing from the southwest (bringing rain) in
summer and from the northeast in winter. These winds last for many months within the tropical
regions. The term was coined to mean large seasonal winds moving from the Arabian Sea and
Indian Ocean in the southwest bringing heavy downpours in the regions. Its directional movement
towards the poles is sped up by the development of low heat areas over Australia in December and
over the African, Asian, and North American continents in the months of May to July.

3. Polar Easterlies

The polar easterlies are also referred to as polar Hadley cells. They are the prevailing cold and dry
winds that propel from the high-temperature regions of the polar heights at the south and north
poles moving towards the low-pressure regions within the westerlies at high latitudes.

Polar easterlies blow from the east to the west and are generally irregular and weak. Due to the low
sun angle, there is a buildup of cold air and it subsides at the poles creating surface high-pressure
areas. This creates an equatorward air outflow that is deflected westward by the Coriolis Effect.

4. The Westerlies

The Westerlies are the winds in the middle latitudes in the ranges of 35 to 65 degrees. These winds
blow from the west to the east and determine the travelling directions of extratropical cyclones in a
similar direction. The winds are mainly from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere and
southwest in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Westerlies are most powerful in the winter when the pressure is lower over the poles and
weakest during the summer when pressure over the poles is higher. Westerlies have been used
together with the trade winds by sailing ships to traverse the trade routes across the Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans. This is because westerlies create strong ocean currents on the western sides of the
oceans in both hemispheres by the process of western intensification.

These western ocean currents carry warm and subtropical water towards the poles in the Polar
Regions. In the southern hemisphere, the westerlies can be considerably strong because there tends
to be less land in the middle latitudes which gives rise to amplification of the flow patterns, and
slows down the wind.

The most powerful westerly winds in the middle latitudes form in groups referred to as Roaring
Forties, in the range of 40 to 50 degrees latitude south of the equator. The westerlies act as an
important force in carrying the warm equatorial waters and winds towards the western coasts of
continents, particularly in the southern hemisphere due to its enormous oceanic spread.

5. Local Winds

Local winds are the ordinary winds. They are influenced by various landforms such as vegetation,
hill, plains, water bodies, mountains and so on. The blow variedly and the changes are because of
different temperatures and pressure regions during the night and day.

Local winds are the kind of winds that are focused as part of daily weather by the meteorological
department on broadcast media such as radio and TV. The speeds of local winds range from mild
to strong but just for a few hours, and they only blow over short distances. Common examples of
local winds are the land and sea breezes, and valley and mountain breezes.

6. Doldrums

Doldrums are a belt of calms and light winds between the northern and southern trade winds of the
Atlantic and Pacific. They occur along a very low pressure area around the equator where the
prevailing winds are calmest. Doldrums occur as a result of constant sun’s radiation.
WHAT IS A WIND TURBINE?
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into electricity. The blades of a wind
turbine turn between 13 and 20 revolutions per minute, depending on their technology, at a constant or
variable velocity, where the velocity of the rotor varies in relation to the velocity of the wind in order to
reach a greater efficiency.
Wind turbines have an average life of over 25 years, although the most widespread accounting criterion is
set for periods of 2

Wind Turbine Components

Wind turbines can essentially be divided into a number of key components.

1. Blades
The blades are responsible for capturing the energy available in the wind. Modern blades have
evolved from the traditional blades used on windmills to highly designed and engineered
 components using modern materials. Much of the developments in the area of blade design
have evolved from the aeronautical industry.
2. Hub
The blades are connected to hub. The hub provides the connection point between the blades
and the rotor.
3. Rotor & Shaft
The rotor is the term used for the blades and hub combined. This is connected to a shaft to
transfer the rotational force through the gearbox and generator.
4. Gearbox
Typically, generators operate at high rotational speeds and therefore it is necessary to have a
gear box to increase the rotational speed from the rotor to match the requirements of the
generator.
5. Generator
The generator is the component of the turbine which produces the electricity. In large scale
HAWT the generators are three phase AC generators, as are used in conventional power
plants. The majority of new turbines are including variable speed drives/generators in the
design. Traditional generators operated efficiently at a set speed. New generator and turbine
designs now allow the turbine to produce electricity at maximum efficiency at variable speeds
– which suits the nature of the variable wind resource.
6. Nacelle
The rotor, gearbox and generator are all housed in the nacelle.
7. Tower
Wind speed varies with height and therefore to capture the maximum amount of wind the
blades and nacelle are hoisted on a tower. The tower typically has a slightly conical shape and
is hollow internally. Normal turbine tower heights are >40m.
8. Controls
Wind is a variable resource and therefore the controls on the turbine are vital to maximize the
amount of energy that can be captured from the wind. The controls required on a typical
include

• Ability to start-up when the wind speed is above a certain level

• Ability to stop when wind spend exceeds safe limits
• Ability to maximize output as wind speed varies
• Ability to rotate to face into the wind direction
• Ability to monitor and control quality of electricity output to the grid
Understanding Energy and Power
in the Wind
The energy which can be captured from the wind is its kinetic energy.
KE = 0.5 𝑚 ∗ 𝑉2.
Where:
m = mass of body (kilograms)
V = velocity (𝑚/𝑠 )
To calculate the energy in the wind it is necessary therefore to calculate the mass and to measure
the velocity. The mass of air can be calculated using the following formula

Mass of air per second = 𝜌 ∗ 𝐴 ∗ 𝑉

Where:
A = swept area of the turbine blades ρ = air density = 1.2256 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 at sea level

WIND RESOURCES
The wind over a region can be considered a resource similar to the “fossil fuel” beneath the earth’s
surface. But unlike fossil fuel, the wind resource varies with time of day, season of year, and even
to some extent from year to year. Wind is movement of air in the atmosphere relative to surface of
the earth. The air moves because of uneven heating of earth’s atmosphere. But the atmosphere is
not heated directly by the incoming solar radiation.
Radiation is first absorbed by the surface of the earth and is then transferred in various forms back
to the overlying air. Since the surface of earth is not homogeneous, the amount of energy that is
absorbed varies both in space and time. This creates temperature – density – pressure differences,
which in turn create forces that move air from one place to another. Coriolis force is an additional
factor, which controls the movements of air.
In terms of energy, wind is kinetic energy of air and power in the wind is the flux of kinetic energy
passing through the vertical cross – sectional area (of the rotor of wind turbines).

WIND CHARACTERISTICS
Topographic Effects on Wind
Topography often plays a major role in modifying the wind speed in a given location. The natural
behavior of air when flowing over topography is to speed up considerably over the crests of hills.
With favorable size, orientation and shape, topographic features can increase wind energy yield
potential up to 100%. The terrains that are considered most suitable for potential wind energy sites
are elevated ridges that are perpendicular (90 degrees) to the prevailing winds.

Elevated terrain tends to cause accelerating forces that increase local wind speeds. The ridges
intercept the winds and then compress and accelerate air as it moves upwards, increasing the wind
speed at the ridge top. Therefore, exposed ridges are known to be sources of higher localized
winds. Other areas where the wind accelerates are steep divides or valleys that funnel the wind. For
the purpose of wind power meteorology, which is primarily concerned with the wind flow from 10
to 200 m above the ground, the effects of the topography can be divided into three typical
categories.
Roughness: The collective effect of the terrain surface and its roughness elements, leading to an
overall retardation of the wind near the ground, is referred to as the roughness of the terrain.
Obstacle: Close to an object, such as a building or shelterbelt, the wind is strongly influenced by
the presence of the obstacle, which may reduce the wind speed considerably.
Orography: The term orography refers to the description of the height variations of the terrain,
referenced to a common datum such as the mean sea level. When the typical scale of the terrain
features becomes much larger that the height of the points of interest they act as a orographic
elements to the wind., Near the summit or the crest of hills, cliffs, ridges and escarpments, the
wind accelerate while near the foot and valley it will decelerate.

Variation of Wind Speed with Height

Wind speed is nominally zero at ground level and increases steadily with height. The change of
wind speed with height is known as the wind shear or profile. The rate of increase with height
strongly depends upon the roughness of the terrain and the changes in this roughness. The variation
also depends on the atmospheric stability conditions. Even within the course of 24 hours, the wind
profile will change between day and night, dawn and dusk.

Wind resources assessment

SITE IDENTIFICATION
The first stage of the wind resource assessment campaign identifies one or more candidate wind
energy project sites. This may involve surveying a relatively large region (e.g., a county, province
or state, or country). A leading consideration is usually the wind resource, which may be estimated
using wind maps and publicly available wind data. Other considerations may include market
conditions, transmission access and capacity, site constructability and access, community and
government support, and environmental and cultural sensitivities. As a first step, it is
recommended that geographic data be collected and compiled in a Geographic Information System
(GIS). Once a GIS project has been created, appropriate criteria can be applied to select candidate
sites in an efficient and systematic way. Another advantage of creating a GIS is that once a
candidate site is selected, much of the wind monitoring campaign design and, subsequently, the
wind project design can be carried out in a virtual environment. Whether a GIS is used or not, the
final site selection should be informed by site visits to confirm the physical conditions on which
the selection was based (such as the condition of roads and locations of transmission lines) and to
assess firsthand the political, regulatory, cultural, and other factors that may help or hinder
development.

RESOURCE MONITORING
Once a candidate site is identified, the second stage involves the measurement and characterization
of the wind resource. It is at this stage that wind monitoring towers are likely to be installed. The
most common objectives of the monitoring are as follows:

• To verify whether a sufficient wind resource exists to justify further investigation To

compare and rank the wind resources between different candidate sites.
• To obtain representative data for estimating the performance and economic viability of
different wind turbine models.
• To provide a sound basis for wind resource analysis.

Wind Monitoring Campaign Design

Tower Number and Placement: The main goal when deciding how many towers to install and
where they should be placed within the project area is to minimize the uncertainty in the wind
resource at potential turbine locations.
Instrument Height: Measuring the wind resource at the turbine hub height (and preferably through
the entire rotor plane), rather than extrapolating measurements from lower heights, reduces the
uncertainty in energy production estimates
Tower Instrumentation: The main task of the monitoring program is the collection of accurate wind
speed, wind direction, and air temperature data. Wind speed data are the most important indicator
of a site’s wind resource.

WIND RESOURCE ANALYSIS

Data Validation
Once the data from the monitoring system have been successfully transferred to an office
computing environment, the data must be checked for errors and validated. The completeness and
reasonableness of the data are assessed, and invalid or suspect values are flagged Characterizing
the Observed Wind Resource
After the wind resource data have been validated, they are analyzed to generate a variety of
statistics that help characterize the site’s wind resource. Common statistics include mean speed,
speed and direction frequency distributions, shear, turbulence intensity, and wind power density

Estimating the Hub Height Resource

Since meteorological towers are often shorter than a turbine’s hub height (the center of the rotor),
where its power curve is defined, it is often necessary to extrapolate speed measurements between
heights. This task requires a careful and often subjective analysis of information about the mast
and site, including the observed shear, local meteorology, topography, and land cover

Climate Adjustment
The objective of climate adjustment is to correct measurements taken over a limited period to
long-term historical conditions. This is important because wind speeds can vary substantially from
the norm even over a period of a year or longer.

Wind Flow Modeling

Since on-site wind measurements are usually limited to just a few locations within a project area,
wind flow modeling, most often done with computer software, must ordinarily be used to estimate
the wind resource at all locations where wind turbines might be deployed

Uncertainty in Wind Resource Assessment

A sound understanding of the uncertainty associated with the wind resource assessment process is
necessary for project financing.

SITE SELECTION
Many technical factors affect the decision making on site selection including wind speed, land
topography and geology, grid structure and distance and turbine size. These technical factors must
be understood in order to give pair-wise scores to sub-factors.

Wind speed
The viability of wind power in a given site depends on having sufficient wind speed available at
the height at which the turbine is to be installed.
Any choice of wind turbine design must be based on the average wind velocity at the selected wind
turbine construction site. In most of the countries, meteorological stations may provide average
wind velocity data and wind maps for the regions. Cubic wind speed directly related with the
energy generation potential of wind. Site’s wind energy potential can be formulated with the wind
power density which represents the effect of wind speed distribution and wind speed. Wind speed
data must be recorded for at least 1 year in order to have mapping for potential energy yield over
site.

Land topography and geology

The speed and the direction of wind can be various depending on the characteristics of
Topography. Wind farms typically need large lands. Topography and prevailing wind conditions
determine turbine placement and spacing within a wind farm. In flat areas where there is nothing
to interfere with wind flow, at least 2600-6000 m /MW may be required. More land may be needed
in areas with more rugged or complex topography and/or wind flow interference. Wind turbines
are usually sited on farms that have slope smaller than 10-20%. Garrique or maquis are more
advantageous than forests as land cover for wind farm sitting. It would be needed to clear and
grade land in order to provide roads for trucks, constructions trailer or equipment storage area,
access to construction site. Soil stability, foundation requirements, drainage and erosion problems
must be assessing by conducting geotechnical study.
Grid structure and distance
The connection of wind turbines to an electricity grid can potentially affect reliability of supply
and power quality, due to the unpredictable fluctuations in wind power output. Feeding
intermittent power into electricity grids can affect power quality. The impact depends primarily on
the degree to which the intermittent source contributes to instantaneous load (i.e. on power
penetration). At low penetrations, wind farms can be connected to the grid as active power
generators, with control tasks concentrated at conventional plants.

Economic considerations
The economic sub factors that affect the site selection include capital cost, land cost and
operational and management costs. One of the biggest advantages of renewable energy sources are
that there is no fuel cost during operation of the plant, therefore contribution of capital cost to the
overall wind farm economy is very high. It is important to make economical evaluations by
considering time value of money due to long periods of service life of wind farm projects

Land cost
Generally, wind power production cost is currently higher than that of the conventional fuels.
Technology of the production is the main effect of cost in the case of production cost. But for the
site selection, main economic factor is the cost of the land where the wind farm is constructed;
because, the cost of land primarily depends on the region, soil condition and the distance from the
residential area. Since large areas are needed for wind farms, the rent or cost of the land becomes
the major factor of site selection. For a commercially viable project, the size of the site is a crucial
parameter. As the size of the site gets bigger, the possibility of facing with more than one
landowner increases. The ideal situation is to communicate with few landowners who can give
exclusive rights to the wind power project owner.
Electricity market
Existing of an electricity market for the energy generated is an important factor affecting the
economic benefits of the project. There should be energy demand in regions close to wind farms.
When the intermittency of the wind energy taken into consideration, a continuous electricity
market gains an extra importance for the region wind farm sited.

Wind energy measurements

Measurements taken by meteorological instruments mounted on tall towers are the foundation of
most wind resource assessment. Each of these instruments is designed to record a specific
environmental parameter. The basic parameters essential for any wind monitoring program are the
horizontal wind speed, wind direction, and air temperature. Other, optional parameters may be
collected as well depending on the priorities and budget of the wind resource monitoring program.
This chapter describes the common types of meteorological instruments, along with the recorded
parameters, sampling intervals, and desired measurement accuracy; associated data loggers,
storage devices and transfer equipment; and power supplies, tower types, and wiring.

Horizontal Wind Speed

Wind speed is the most important indicator of a site’s wind resource. Obtaining accurate readings
of the free-stream wind speed (i.e., the speed unaffected by the tower, instruments, and other
station components) over a representative period is, therefore, the tops priority of any wind
monitoring campaign. Achieving this goal requires careful attention to the choice of instruments,
mounting configuration, and tower design. Multiple redundant anemometers and measurement
heights are strongly encouraged to maximize data recovery and to accurately determine a site’s
wind shear.
Three anemometer types are used for the measurement of horizontal wind speed. Of these, the cup
anemometer is the most popular because of its low cost and generally good accuracy. However,
both propeller and sonic anemometers are used in some settings.
Cup Anemometer. This instrument consists of three or four cups connected to a vertical shaft. The
wind causes the cup assembly to turn in a preferred direction. A transducer in the anemometer
converts this rotational movement into an electrical signal, which is sent through a wire to the data
logger. The logger measures the frequency or magnitude of the signal and applies a predetermined
multiplier (slope) and offset (intercept) to convert the signal to a wind speed
 Figure 1 cup anemometer

Propeller or Prop-Vane Anemometer. This consists of a propeller mounted on a horizontal shaft

that is kept pointing into the wind by a tail vane. Like a cup anemometer, a propeller anemometer
generates an electrical signal whose frequency or magnitude is proportional to the wind speed.
This type of anemometer can record slightly lower speeds than cup anemometers under turbulent
conditions. This so-called under speeding is caused by the prop-vane’s tendency to oscillate around
the central direction or to lag behind sudden wind direction shifts, with the result that the propeller
does not always point directly into the

Figure 2 propeller anemometer

Sonic Anemometer. This instrument, which does not have any moving parts, measures the wind
speed and direction by detecting variations in the speed of ultrasound (sound waves whose
frequency is above the range of human hearing) transmitted between fixed points. Some sonic
anemometers measure wind in two dimensions, whereas others measure in three. Because they
have no rotational inertia, sonic anemometers are more responsive to rapid speed and direction
fluctuations than cup or propeller anemometers. They are also usually more expensive than other
types and require more power

Wind Direction
Wind direction measurements are a necessary ingredient for modeling the spatial distribution of
the wind resource across a project area and for optimizing the layout of the wind turbines. A wind
vane is usually used to measure wind direction (with prop-vane and sonic sensors, no separate vane
is required, though one or two may be desirable for redundancy)
Air Temperature
Air temperature is an important characteristic of a wind farm’s operating environment. It is
normally measured 2–3 m above ground level or near hub height, or at both levels. In most
locations, the average air temperature near ground level is within 1◦ C of the average at hub height.
Air temperature is used to estimate air density, which affects the calculation of power production.
The air temperature readings are also utilized in the data validation process to detect icing.

Figure 3 temperature sensor

ADDITIONAL MEASUREMENTS
Depending on the site conditions and the needs, priorities, and budget of the monitoring program,
additional sensors may be included to measure vertical wind speed, high accuracy temperature (for
determining vertical temperature gradients), relative humidity, barometric pressure, and solar
radiation

Relative Humidity
Since the amount of water vapor in the air affects its density, the use of a relative humidity sensor
can improve the accuracy of air density estimates. However, the humidity effect is usually small,
so this parameter is rarely measured for this purpose. In cold climates, a relative humidity sensor is
sometimes used for icing analysis.

Global Solar Radiation

The solar energy resource can be measured as part of a wind monitoring program. Solar radiation,
when used in conjunction with wind speed and time of day, can also be an indicator of atmospheric
stability. A pyranometer is used to measure global horizontal (total) solar radiation, which is the
combination of direct sunlight and diffuse sky radiation striking a horizontal plane. One common
type of pyranometer uses a photodiode, which generates a very small current proportional to the
amount of incident sunlight (called insolation).
 Figure 4 pyranometer

“W” Anemometer
The propeller anemometer is especially suited for measuring the vertical wind component. It
consists of a propeller mounted on a fixed vertical arm. The sensor requires a transducer that can
electrically relate both the rotational direction (indicative of upward or downward motion) and the
speed of the propeller. This signal is usually a polarized DC voltage that is interpreted by the data
logging system (or interface device). The polarity indicates rotational direction; the magnitude
indicates rotational speed. The data logger then uses a known multiplier and offset to calculate the
actual vertical wind speed.

Figure 5 w anemometer

Barometric Pressure
Sensors A barometer measures atmospheric (barometric) pressure. Several barometric pressure
sensors are commercially available. Most models use a piezoelectric transducer that provides a
standard output to a data logger. This may require an external power source to operate properly.
Again, consult with the data logger manufacturer to determine a compatible sensor model.
 Figure 6 pressure sensor

Software usage in wind resources

assessment:
Wind development and consulting firms depend on engineering and support software. The general
categories of software that companies might use include: wind data validation and analysis, wind
farm design and optimization, and online wind data resources that leverage geographic information
system.

Online Wind Resource Assessment Tools

Characterizing the available wind resources is one of the first steps in siting and developing
potential wind farms. Wind maps often provide a starting point. The availability of web-based
mapping
tools from several sources allow developers to access and view wind resource maps from around
the
globe to support prospecting for and evaluating potential sites. These tools typically include
features such as:

 View wind resource maps in a GIS mapping interface

 Query wind speeds at location coordinates and at specific heights above ground
 View or extract wind statistics such as monthly and diurnal distributions, Weibull values and
wind roses

Wind Data Validation and Analysis Software

When developing a wind farm, one of the first steps involves collecting wind and other related data
from onsite meteorological towers and remote-sensing equipment. The data from these systems are
critically important for estimating a wind project’s energy production. Wind-data validation and
analysis software allows screening such data for quality issues and to produce an accurate data set
for project design and analysis. Data validation and analysis can be done with commercially
available software that includes features such as:
  Importing a variety of common wind industry formats from data loggers and measurement
systems
 Data visualization of raw and calculated data such as air density and turbulence intensity,
time series data, wind roses, frequency histograms and diurnal profiles
 Quality control measures that let users flag problems and potentially fill gaps in the data that
could be caused by things such as tower shading, icing or sensor malfunction
 Data analysis features for wind shear, turbulence, temperature patterns, extreme wind
conditions and wind speed distribution

Wind Farm Design and Optimization Software

Wind-farm design and optimization software is used throughout a wind project’s development to
create optimal turbine layouts that maximize energy production, minimize energy losses due to
wakes and other sources, account for balance-of-plant costs such as roads and cabling systems and
take into consideration constraints such as property boundaries, setbacks, noise limits, visual
impacts and environmentally sensitive areas. There are several brands of wind farm design
software, but most generally allow:

 Importing wind data from meteorological towers

 Creating or importing results from wind flow modeling
 Characterizing turbines based on hub height, rotor diameter, power output and thrust over a
range of wind speeds
 Creating optimal turbine locations within a project area
 Estimating gross energy production
 Calculating wake losses and other losses to estimate net energy production

Optional features vary with the software. In general, they allow calculating noise levels, view shed
analysis, turbine shutdown strategies, uncertainty analysis and designing road and electrical
collection systems.
Conclusion and findings:

Wind resources assessment is a pivotal step in the development phase of a wind project. Even if
the wind resource is sufficient for a viable project, the difference between a bankable and non-
bankable wind resources assessment is the amount of due diligence exercised during the
performance of wind measurement and wind flow modeling to compute annual energy
production. With respect to due diligence, financiers look for the developer’s efforts to reduce
uncertainty during the wind resources assessment and the developer’s ability to estimate the
remaining uncertainty [4].
Based on the preceding and ongoing experience the following is of controlling criteria to
introduce an accelerated wind energy study based on the available resources:
a- Low-cost financing or grants for qualified wind energy developers to
perform WRAs.
b- Long-term quality wind measurement campaign
c- Collect reference data, which will reduce uncertainty
d- Map the wind resources to a greater level of detail in areas with promising
wind resources.
e- Capacity building to transfer knowledge about best practices of WRAs.
References
1. WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT A Practical Guide to Developing a Wind Project
Michael C. Brower AWS Truepower, LLC, Albany, New York, USA
2. Beurskens, J and Jensen, P.H., 2001. ‘Economics of wind energy – Prospects and
directions’, Renewable Energy World, July-Aug.
3. WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT HANDBOOK
4. GUIDELINES FOR WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT: BEST PRACTICES FOR
COUNTRIES INITIATING WIND DEVELOPMENT