Director North America Vortex Fdc Inc. Austin, Texas
Presentation Description: Once a floating LiDAR is deployed and a few months of measurements available, wind farm developers rush to estimating the energy yield of the future wind farm. However, at least two problems arise: #1: Data is obtained at a single point whereas the extension of the area is much larger. #2: A few months of data is not representative of the long-term (seasonality). Unless developers can invest in deploying several units and wait for two years to get measurements, a very useful tool to solve the aforementioned problems are Gridded Time Series (GTS) in high resolution maps (WRB/WRG files) based on non-linear atmosphere modeling and using reanalysis datasets downscaled with WRF (Weather Research and Forecast) software from low resolution (25km) to high resolution (100m) by means of nested domains. A key limitation of the current methods is that the spatial variation is not easy to predict so assuming that wind conditions at LiDAR will be the same in the whole area is far from reality. One or two years of 30-min GTS at 100m resolution allow a full time-evolving representation of the wind conditions in a site since wind blows differently day and night or winter and summer. GTS mean a very accurate seasonality analysis that also can be useful for curtailment strategies. Last but not least, GTS can be calibrated in the time domain (not with a bias correction) with LiDAR measurements which makes this tool ever more powerful.
Learning Objectives:
Understand why Gridded Time Series (GTS) are a step forward in Wind Resource Assessment for offshore sites and how high resolution (100m) maps with 30-min GTS in the whole area of the wind farm, allow to go further into a seasonality analysis.
Understand why synthetic wind data based on atmosphere non-linear modeling is the most affordable and reliable complement to LiDAR measurements in any site, either onshore or offshore.
Understand how important it can be to calibrate Gridded Time Series when LiDAR measurements available, even if only few months of data. Output data is enhanced with remodeling is possible.
