Current Resource Modelling Techniques

When planning wind energy projects, it is essential to have all the reliable, accurate information and estimations of the wind resource of the potential site. Moreover, the calculation of the profitability of a project requires knowledge about the annual average energy production of the wind turbine.

 Generally, there are two methods currently available to determine the wind yield of a site:

• Analytically, using modeling tools (such as WAsP) that transfer the wind resource of a nearby site where the resource is already known thanks to a long term measurement station (airport, meteorological station) to the actual potential wind turbine site.
  
• Direct measurements on the wind turbine site using a meteorological mast over a period of at least one full year. The results are then correlated with long term data of a near meteorological station.

Obviously the direct measurement method will produce the most accurate wind energy model, but it is not always a financially viable option, and is limited in its time period.

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