COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WIND ATLASES: WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF FORESTED SITES FOR WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT

Abstract: Wind atlases are interactive databases used extensively for preliminary wind resource assessment aimed at optimal wind power development. The selection and processing of wind atlas data are important and will determine the quality of the subsequent WRA (Wind Resource Assessment) phases. This study aims to compare, process, and interpret different wind atlases in determining effective wind resource analysis for 14 different sites in Sweden. The wind atlas data is accessed, parsed, and compared using multiple methodologies to ensure a fair comparison. Several variables like wind speed, wind direction, temperature, production values, etc. are analysed and compared amongst the wind atlas data. The corrected versions of the data are drawn out to conclude and determine how well those databases represent the realistic conditions in a forested site. The data is also compared and validated with measurement data. The results indicate several layers of insights into the wind resource regime. The preliminary results from 14 sites show that New European Wind Atlas (NEWA) and Global Wind Atlas (GWA) agreed sufficiently on the subject of the wind conditions for most of the sites. Methodologies like downscaling and long-term correction introduced to the wind atlas data provided more insights and proved that the database could expand and include more complex wind conditions in the coming years. Furthermore, the comparison and analysis of wind atlas data along with measurement data revealed that NEWA aligned the most to the actual wind conditions for a site. Several uncertainties are considered but more validation and thorough insights in the future could determine and give more affirmations to the idea put forward. Further studies could be conducted along with the inclusion of additional layers, variables, and databases to the wind atlases.