Development of Micro Sitting Guidelines for Wind Energy Autoproducers

Project Description

This RD&D project consists of multiple wind resource measurements at 4 different locations in Ireland ranging from rural to peri-urban so as to assess the characteristics of the wind resource in terms of speed, direction and turbulence intensity. It aims to draw conclusions on site specific factors that have the most significant impacts when considering the installation a wind autoproducer. The measurement time periods range from months, carried out within the timeframe of the project, to longer multi-annual data measuring periods from prior measurement campaigns. The data consists of 2D measurement from traditional cup anemometers and wind vanes, short term LiDAR profiling and multi-annual SCADA data from an operating large scale wind autoproducer. Three case studies are presented that explore the mesoscale and microscale factors that need to be considered when siting a wind autoproducer. It is hoped that further work in this relatively complex area will continue through further measurements, analysis and refinements and through collaboration with IEA Wind Task 27.