Developing Wind Farms: Screening for Potential Sites

AWS Truewind, LLC

This image displays AWS Truewind's first national map for mean annual wind speed at 80 meters above ground. The wind resource data is the basis for identifying potential land area for wind development. Although AWS Truewind uses various methods for screening sites, the example depicted in this map for New York state features a simple approach using some basic GIS layers.

This study used a series of raster-based analyses at 200m resolution looking at land-cover type, topography, wind resource, transmission availability, and minimum land requirements. By aggregating small regions within a reasonable distance of one another, sizeable chunks of land were identified for large-scale wind development. The result was an estimate of total megawatt potential based on land area availability that will be used to make policy decisions and plan for future wind development in the state.

AWS Truewind, LLC, is a firm based in Albany, New York, that specializes in renewable energy consulting services to developers, investors, and governmental and institutional clients around the world.

Copyright AWS Truewind, LLC, 2008.

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