Meteorological tower wind power generation

Why do wind farms need a measurement tower?

Met masts are crucial in the development of wind farms, as precise knowledge of the wind speed is necessary to know how much energy will be produced, and whether the turbines will survive on the site. Measurement towers are also used in other contexts, for instance near nuclear power stations, and by ASOS stations.

Can TB data improve wind power prediction?

Liu et al. (2010) suggest the use of TB observations in, for example, data assimilation. They showed that these data can (significantly) improve (0–6 h) 12-h wind power prediction. This study was supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF under Grant L615-N10.

How much power does a wind turbine extract?

Assuming for simplicity that the turbine extracts 50% (because of the Betz limit of 59% and a maximum effectiveness of the turbine of approximately 80%) of the advected kinetic energy (~power), wind speed behind the rotor is on average reduced by about 20%, since wind speed is proportional to the cube root of power.

How are wind measurements obtained?

Farther aloft, wind measurements are commonly obtained by radiosondes, remote sensing systems (Doppler radar, Doppler lidar, and wind profiler), and meteorological towers (MTs). These methods are comparatively expensive in operation and/or initial costs so that they are much more sparsely deployed.

How often should a wind turbine anemometer be installed?

Typically these mount anemometers at a range of heights up to the hub height of the proposed wind turbines, and log the wind speed data at frequent intervals (e.g. every ten minutes) for at least one year and preferably two or more.

Why do wind turbines have a diurnal bias?

This diurnal bias results from an underestimation of the actual diurnal cycle of the wind speed by the model. Measurements on wind turbines provide valuable WEL wind information in addition to that coming from the sparse meteorological towers.