Wind Resource - Wind Energy: Renewable Energy and the Environment - page 69

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2

80

64

48

32

16

5 10 15 20 25

Wind Speed in m/s

FIGURE 4.16 Example graph, frequency distribution plus energy, from analysis program, 50 m height, White
Deer, Texas, April 1998.

4.7 WIND MEASUREMENT FOR SMALL WIND TURBINES
For a very small wind turbine of the order of 100 W to 3 kW, the expense of anemometers, data
loggers, and the analysis is more than the price of the wind turbine. In one sense, the wind tur-
bine is the anemometer, as the energy produced is the measurement. So you should depend on
historical and regional data to determine feasibility of installing a small wind turbine. Two other
indicators of feasibility are the past historical use of farm windmills in the area and a check
with owners on performance of other small wind turbine installations in the region. For a wind
turbine of 10 to 50 kW, the investment is fairly large, $35,000 to $135,000. Inexpensive digital
weather stations are now available for $300 to $600, including the data logger, and the data
logger can be plugged into a personal computer for analysis. These instruments are not suitable
for collecting long-term data for wind resource assessment or for wind farms. If there are wind
maps indicating sufficient winds, and if there are wind farms in the area, then there is no need
to collect wind data before installing this size turbine. However, use caution when installing
wind turbines inside cities, even in windy areas, as the winds will be less than those indicated
on wind maps.

LINKS

M APS
Canada, www.windatlas.ca/en/index.php .
Database of wind characteristics, www.winddata.com .
NREL, international, www.nrel.gov/wind/international_wind_resources.html.
NREL, United States, www.nrel.gov/wind/resource_assessment.html .
Wind Atlases of the World, www.windatlas.dk/ .

O CEAN W INDS
College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, www.ocean.udel.edu/windpower/ . Annual and monthly
values.
European, www.windatlas.dk/Europe/oceanmap.html .
Galathea 3, www.gathea3.emu.dk , http://galathea3.emu.dk/satelliteeye/projekter/wind/back_uk.html . Nine-
month expedition, education.