Accurate estimates of the wind resource

With MesoMap®, the task of identifying attractive sites for wind projects is accomplished quickly and sistematically. The accuracy of the MesoMap system has been verified by comparing map predictions with independent observations for over 1000 stations around the world, and the root-mean-square error has typically been found to be 5-7% in the mean annual wind at the nacelle height. Governments can estimate how much wind power can contribute to their resources and plan measurement campaigns in a more efficient manner. Project developers can focus their attention to the sites with higher wind resources before doing any measurement. The final result is a long term wind resource study with resolutions between 90 and 200 m.

Mesoscale simulations are carried out with MASS (Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System) and have the benefit of preserve the full physics underlying the situation. The microscale model (WindMap) finally adjust the wind resource with high resolution data of topography and roughness.

MesoMap® has been used by more than 100 customers in more than 50 countries around the world.

MesoMap® reduces the cost and multiplies the effectiveness of conventional methods. The exclusive benefits of MesoMap include:

• Reliable results without surface wind measurements (although where available, such data are used to validate and refine the maps).
• Handles complex wind conditions beyond the capability of most models, such as katabatic mountain winds, channeling through mountain passes, lake and sea breezes, low-level jets, and temperature inversions.

Standard deliverables of MesoMap® include:

• Electronic and hard-copy maps of the predicted mean annual wind speed or power for several heights above ground. The maps include thematic overlays such as roads, transmission lines, parks, and towns and cities.
• A CD-ROM with ESRI ArcReader software allowing the user to view the maps, zoom to any area, copy or print maps at any scale, and extract wind rose charts and Weibull parameters.
• A report describing the method and results, including validation.

Optional deliverables include:

• Weibull coefficients, wind roses and seasonal, monthly and diurnal data.
• A representative year of hourly wind, temperature, and air density data for any point (a "Virtual Met Mast"). VMM example
• 30 years of reanalysis data series in case there is no more reference data available to do MCP studies.
• Other services as natural continuation of every project, as can be windfarm design, power output estimation using WindFarmer and WindPro, photographic simulations, due diligence...

SiteScreening: objective selection of potential wind sites

SiteScreening is a system that analyzes the wind resource together with environmental restrictions (proximity to protected zones or populated places) and economical factors (construction costs, grid connection) in order to find and classify possible wind development sites.

Wind Resource Explorer: MesoMap® output in your web browser

Wind Resource Explorer is a tool in a web environment that lets you explore and look up the results of a wind resource study performed with MesoMap®. It provides public access by the Internet to the results of the wind resource studies and allow to explore these data in a completely autonomous way without the intervention of the customer. Is the perfect solution for administrations and public entities who want to provide the users with the results of a MesoMap® study.

You can see here an example of the Wind Resource Explorer for Ohio State.

Customers

Iberdrola, Gamesa Energía, Ecotécnia, Endesa Cogeneración y Renovables, Airtricity, Exxon, Shell Wind Energy, Institut Català de l’Energia, Agència de l'Energia de Barcelona, Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias, COMSA Medioambiente,...