A.

Haribhaskaran,
Senior Scientific Officer/ Scientist C, MNRE
Deputy Director (Technical), Wind Resource Assessment, NIWE

27th October, 2015, NIWE, Chennai

1

Wind Resource Assessment

Main objective is to identify potentially windy areas that

also possess other desirable qualities for wind project
development

What makes a good wind site?

Strong steady winds
Good exposure to the wind
Ridgelines oriented perpendicular to the
prevailing wind direction
Moderate slopes
Low surface roughness or lack of vegetation

The Challenge of Wind Resource Evaluation

Finding locations with
strong, persistent, well behaved winds that:
Are within the utilities area of interest or near the wind
developers identified customer
Are not more than 5 -10 km from transmission lines
Have sufficient land area for an economically viable project
Without any environmental or legal obstacles and
resistance to development is not expected

WIND DEFORMED TREES

Energy Production Terms

Power in the Wind = 1/2AV3
Betz Limit - 59% Max
Power Coefficient - Cp
Rated Power Maximum power
generator can produce.
Capacity factor
Actual energy/maximum energy

Cut-in wind speed where energy

production begins
Cut-out wind speed where energy
production ends.

Typical Power Curve

Terminology to be known
Orography Terrain Height (elevation) variations

Low, smooth hills Relative height

variations are very small

Mountain terrains Relative height

variations are large

Terminology to be known
Orography represented by contour lines

Terminology to be known
Roughness Terrain surface characteristics
Roughness class 0
Z0 = 0.0002m

Roughness class 2
Z0 = 0.10m

Roughness class 1
Z0 = 0.03m

Roughness class 3
Z0 = 0.4 m

10

Terminology to be known
Digitization of roughness

Terminology to be known
Obstacle Terrain surface characteristics

Influence on wind.

13

Terminology to be known
Is this a right place?

Terminology to be known
Orography Vs Roughness

Measurement Parameters
The core of the monitoring program is the
collection of time series data on
Wind Speed
Wind Direction
Temperature
Pressure
Solar Radiation (optional)

Representativeness of wind
measurement

Rule of Thumb
Mast height > 2/3 hub height

Optimum direction of
boom
900 for lattice mast to
prevailing direction
450 for tubular mast to
prevailing direction

Met Mast layout Tubular Type

Rule of Thumb
Boom Length should
be
At least 6 to 7 times
the face width of the
lattice mast
At least 10 times the
dia. of the mast.

Met Mast Lattice type

Lattice minimum 3 tower width (best practice at least 7 face width

from the tower centre line)

Sensor Layout

100 m met mast installation for validation

75 numbers of 100 m mast

Methodology
Measurement
parameters and
Data Analysis
Wind speed, Direction
Temperature & Pressure

Power
Curve

Export data from Binary to ASCII

Annual Energy
Production

Valid data
Accessibility

WS - Wind Speed
WPD-Wind Power Density
PFD -Percentage Frequency
Distribution
PLI-Power Law Index
TI Turbulence intensity

Direction

Temperature
and Pressure

Standard
Deviati0n

Wind
Rose

Air density

TI

Wind Speed

Mean Wind
Speed

WPD
PLI
Extrapolated Values (WS, WPD)
Graphical representation

PFD

Measurement Parameters
Wind speed (anemometers).
Wind direction (vanes).
Temperature.
Pressure, humidity, solar.

AdditionalParameters (derived)
Wind shear.
Turbulence intensity.
Air density.
Extrapolated wind speeds.

The Monitoring heights

Optional parameters are:
Measured Parameters
Wind Speed
Wind Direction
Temperature
Pressure
Solar Radiation

of

the

Basic/

Unit

Monitoring Heights

m/s

(0 C)

10m, 30m, 50m & at

tower height
30m, 50m & at tower
height
3m or close to tower height

mb

3m or close to tower height

Degree

W/m2

3m

WIND SPEED
Wind speed data are the most
important indicator of a sites wind
energy resource.
Multiple measurement heights are
encouraged for determining a sites
wind shear characteristics

WIND SPEED
50m: The measurement at 50 m height is mandatory as
the potential of a site is assessed based on the WPD at
50m level.
30m: This level approximates the minimum height
reached by the blade tip portion of a rotating turbine
rotor and will help define the wind regime encountered
by a typical turbine rotor over its swept area.
10m: This is the universally standard meteorological
measurement height. However, in locations where the
interference of local vegetation (e.g., forest) at this
height is unavoidable, an alternative low-level above
the forest canopy may be used.

WIND SPEED MEASUREMENTS

Name of the sensor : cup anemometer
Mounted on a meteorological mast on a
sufficiently long boom to avoid wakes
The cup rotation is linearly proportional to
the wind speed and generate signals.
The signals could be continuous or
intermittent.
Continuous signals - wind speed at any
instant
Intermittent signals - average wind speed
during the specific interval.

WIND DIRECTION
To define the prevailing wind direction(s),
wind vanes should be installed at all
significant monitoring levels.
Wind direction frequency information is
important for identifying preferred terrain
shapes and orientations and for optimizing
the layout of wind turbines within a wind
farm.

WIND DIRECTION MEASUREMENTS

Name of the sensor : wind vane
Mounted on a vertical axis on which it is free
to turn.
To identifying terrain shapes and orientations
To optimizing the layout of wind turbines of
the wind farm.
Most wind vanes use a potentiometer type
transducer that outputs an electrical signal
relative to the position of the vane usually
true north. Thus alignment of vane is
important in data collection.
The signals will be either indicating discrete
direction or instantaneous directions.

TEMPERATURE
Name of the sensor : Thermistor
Composed of three parts the
Transducer, an Interface device & a
radiation shield
An important descriptor of a wind
farms operating environment.
To calculate air density, a variable
required to estimate the wind power
density
Alternatively temperature information
from a nearby climatological station
after necessary elevation correction
also can be considered.

PRESSURE
The air pressure (also called atmospheric pressure,
barometric pressure, or just pressure) is the force
per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight
of the air molecules above that surface. The air
pressure to calculate the air density in each time
step. The unit of pressure is mb

P=F/A
where

P is the Pressure
F is the Normal Force
A is the Area

PRESSURE
Name of the sensor : Barometer
Most Barometer use a Piezoelectric
transducer that provides a standard
output to a Data logger.
It require an external power source
to operate properly.
Pressure data from a nearby
climatological
station
with
correction for elevation can be used
alternatively.

SOLAR RADIATION
Name of the sensor : Pyranometer
Mounted on a horizontal axis to measure
accurately.
Most Pyranometer uses a Photodiode that
generates a small voltage(millivolts) across
a fixed resistance proportional to the
amount of solar radiation.
An indicator of atmospheric stability and
numerical wind flow modeling.
Used to estimate the solar energy
resources available at a location like wind.

DATA LOGGER
The instruments send low-voltage-electrical signals to a data
recorder at the base of tower, where ten minutes averages of
the speed and direction are recorded in memory.
Mounted in a non-corrosive, water-tight, lockable electrical
enclosure to protect peripheral equipment from the
environment and vandalism.
The logger has a fixed averaging interval of 10 minutes. Each
of the 12 channels averages, standard deviations, minimum
and maximum values are calculated from continuous 2 second
data samples.

DATA LOGGER

Data Storage device : EPROM, EEPROM & MMC

Power requirement(capability to work with solar panel/1.5V Alkaline

batteries)

Storage capacity for at least one month or more without any attention.

DATA TRANSFER

Manual data transfer

Remove and replace current storage device or data
card
Transfer of data directly to the lap top
Advantage leading to visual on site inspection.
Disadvantage - frequent site visits.
Remote data transfer
By direct wire cabling
Phone modem
Cellular modem
Satellite communication
Internet connection
Advantage - Retrieve and inspect data more frequently
and allows promptly to identify and resolve problems.
Disadvantage Cost

RECORDED PARAMETERS AND

SAMPLING INTERVALS
The measured parameters presented in
the section represent internal processing
functions of the data logger.
All parameters should be sampled every
one or two seconds and recorded as
averages,
standard
deviations,
and
maximum and minimum values.

A) AVERAGE
The average value should be calculated for
all parameters on a ten-minute basis,
which is now the international standard
period for wind measurement.
Except for wind direction, the average is
defined as the mean of all samples. For
wind direction, the average should be a
unit vector (resultant) value.

B) STANDARD DEVIATION
The standard deviation should be
determined for both wind speed and wind
direction.
It is defined as the true population
standard deviation (s) for all one or two
second samples within each averaging
interval.

The standard deviations of wind

speed and wind direction are
indicators of the turbulence level and
atmospheric stability.
Standard deviation is also useful in
detecting, suspecting or incorrect
data when validating average values.

C) MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM

Maximum and minimum values should be
determined
for
wind
speed
and
temperature at least daily.
The maximum (minimum) value is defined
as the greatest (lowest) one or two
seconds reading observed within the
preferred period
The coincident direction corresponding to
the maximum (minimum) wind speed
should also be recorded.

Monthly Maximum, Minimum & Mean Wind Speed

Raw Data (Binary)

3032

2011

04

0 009.rwd

Site no. Year Month Date File no.

This data is converted to excel (ASCII) format by using NRG

Symphonie Retriever Software.

SAMPLE DATA

Date & Time

Stamp

ANEMOMETER

WIND VANE

THERMISTOR

BAROMETER

PYRANOMETER

50m WS (m/s)

50m DIR (o)

Temperature (o C)

Pressure (mb)

Solar Radiation (W/m2)

AVG SD MAX MIN AVG SD MAX MIN AVG SD MAX MIN AVG SD MAX

MIN

AVG

SD

MAX

MIN

01-05-2009 15:00 5.9 0.3 6.4

4.9 257

255

32 0.1 32.4 31.5 1015.2 0 1015.4 1015.4 841.3

5.9

853.9 826.6

01-05-2009 15:10 5.4 0.4 6.4

4.9 256

255

31.8 0 32.1 31.5 1015.2 0 1016.4 1015.4 819.9

6.4

833.3 811.1

01-05-2009 15:20 4.9 0.3 5.7

4.1 255

261

31.6 0.1 32.1 31.5 1014.9 0 1015.4 1015.4 794.8

7.6

811.1

01-05-2009 15:30 5.1 0.2 5.7

4.5 257

256

32.1 0 32.4 31.8 1014.9 0 1015.4 1014.4 770.4

7.6

785.1 755.9

01-05-2009 15:40 5.2 0.2 5.7

4.5 257

260

32 0.2 32.4 31.5 1014.9 0 1015.4 1014.4 744.3

7.6

4.5 256

273

31.9 0 32.4 31.5 1014.9 0 1015.4 1014.4 713.7

9.5

733.8 695.1

01-05-2009 16:00 4.8 0.2 5.3

4.1 256

255

31.8 0.1 32.1 31.5 1014.9 0 1015.4 1014.4 681.6 10.3

698.9 663.8

01-05-2009 16:10 4.4 0.2 4.9

3.8 257

258

31.8 0 32.1 31.5 1014.9 0 1015.4 1014.4 647.8

9.9

665.6 630.5

01-05-2009 16:20 4.6 0.2 4.9

4.1 255

253

31.7 0.1 32.1 31.5 1014.7 0 1015.4 1014.4 613.3

9.5

630.5 597.3

01-05-2009 16:30 4.6 0.2 5.3

4.1 259

257

31.7 0 31.8 31.5 1014.4 0 1015.4 1014.4 579.8 10.3

598.9 562.7

01-05-2009 15:50

0.3

760

783

729.8

DATA ANALYSIS
From the Measurement Parameters we can
derived the following Parameters

Turbulence Intensity
Energy Pattern Factor
Air Density
Wind Power Density
Power law Index

 Extrapolation of Wind Speed and WPD

Weibull Parameter (C & k)
Wind Rose Diagram
Percentage frequency distribution of wind
speed
Mean hourly wind speed Avg, Sd

WIND SPEED
Average data are used in reporting wind
speed variability, as well as wind speed and
direction frequency distributions.
One statistical quantity of wind speed is
average or arithmetic mean. If we have a
set of measured wind speeds (ui), the
mean of the wind speed is defined as

n = The sample size or the number of measured values

ui = set of measured wind speeds

Month wise Daily Mean Wind Speed Graph

Monthly Mean Wind Speed Graph

STANDARD DEVIATION

ui = set of wind speeds numbers

= mean wind speed

Monthly mean Standard Deviation

Month wise Standard Deviation

Example
Calculate the mean and standard
deviation for the given wind speed
values of 2,4,7,8, and 9 m/s.
= (2+4+7+8+9)/5 = 6.00 m/s

TURBULENCE INTENSITY (TI)

Wind turbulence is the rapid disturbances
or irregularities in the wind speed,
direction, and vertical component.
It is an important site characteristic,
because high turbulence levels may
decrease power output and cause extreme
loading on wind turbine components.

The most common indicator of turbulence

for siting purposes is the standard
deviation of wind speed.
If TI is less than or equal to 0.10, it
indicates low level. For moderate level the
value should be 0.25. If TI is greater than
0.25 it shows high level.

This above
turbulence.

values

assess

the

sites

Turbulence intensity is defined as the

standard deviation of wind speed by the
average wind speed for a particular
measurement period.

0.40
0.35

Turbulence Intensity

0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
0

10

12

14

Wind Speed(m/s)

Annual Turbulence Intensity

16

18

20

22

Example:
Calculate TI with mean wind speed 6m/s and
standard deviation 2.92m/s.
Solution:
TI = 2.92 m/s
6 m/s
TI = 0.49

ENERGY PATTERN FACTOR

Energy Pattern Factor (EPF) is a useful
parameter for calculating the available
energy in the wind from the values of
mean annual or monthly wind speed
It is also useful while choosing locations
with limited wind data, because long-term
data from neighboring stations can be
correlated
with
onsite
short-term
measurements.

The Energy Pattern Factor is a ratio given

by the sums of the cubes of all the
individual hourly values considered in a
sample by the cube of the mean wind
speed of the sample and is given by

The range of EPF values will be generally between 1.50 to 2.50

Example
Calculate EPF for a given mean wind speed 6
m/s for a month of January in a 10 minute
interval and

AIR DENSITY
Air density varies with pressure and
temperature and also vary 10% to 15%
seasonally.
If the site pressure is known the hourly air
density values with respect to air temperature
can be calculated from the following equation

If the site pressure is not available, air

density can be estimated as a function of
site elevation (z) and temperature (T) as
follows:

= ( PO / RT) exp

(-g.z/RT)

(Kg/m3)

Where
PO= the standard sea level atmospheric
pressure (101,325 Pa), or the actual sea
level adjusted pressure reading from a
local airport.
g = the gravitational constant (9.8 m/s2)
z = the site elevation above sea level (m)

Substituting in the numerical values for PO , R

and g we get
= (353.05/T ) exp 0.034 (Z/T) (Kg/m3)

The thumb rule for obtaining air density at

higher elevation is to allow a decrease of 1 %
for every increase elevation by 100m.
The Standard Air density value is 1.225 kg/m3

Monthly Mean Air Density (Kg/m3)

Example
Calculate Air density for the given Pressure
994.7 mb and Temperature 20.55 0C
Solution:
= P/RT Kg/m3
P = 994.7 mb
T = 20.55 + 273 = 293.55 Kelvin
= 1.180 Kg /m3

WIND POWER DENSITY

Wind power density (WPD) is a real
indication of a sites wind energy potential
than wind speed alone.
Its Value combines the effect of a sites
wind speed distribution, its dependence on
air density and wind speed.
WPD is defined as the wind power
available per unit area swept by the
turbine blades and is given by the following
equation.

The mean wind power density for a month

is given by

Monthly Wind power density (W/m2)

Example
Calculate WPD for a given Air density is
for a month
1.180 kg/m3 and
of January in 10 minute interval.

POWER LAW INDEX

Wind shear is defined as the change in
horizontal wind speed with change in
height.
The wind shear exponent ( ) should be
determined for each site, because its
magnitude is influenced by site-specific
characteristics.

The equation of power law is given by

where
v2 = the wind speed at height z2, and
v1 = the wind speed at height z1.

A power law model is used for height

projection of long-term wind and is given by

V 2 / v 1 = (z 2 / z 1 )
Where
V2 & V1 = mean wind speeds at height Z1&Z2 respectively
= Power law index

This equation gives reasonable results in

homogenous terrain.

Monthly Power Law Exponent

Example
The 40m height wind speed is 3.82 m/s and
WPD is 47.55 W/m2 and the 50m height wind
speed is 4.07 m/s and WPD is 60 W/m2.Find
power law index and extrapolation of 70m
height WS and WPD?
Solution:
= Log10 4.07 Log10 3.82
Log10 50 Log10 40
= 0.28
70m height WS = 4.47 m/s.
70m height WPD = 79.60 W/m2.

Modelling of Wind speed

The Wind Speed variation at a given site is
usually described using the wind distribution
To Identify the statistical distribution for
describing the Wind Speed variation, the
following functions are used
1. Weibull Distribution
2. Rayleigh Distribution
3.Gaussian (Normal Distribution)

Weibull Distribution
Two Parameter Distribution (c & k)
The weibull density function is given by

 The shape parameter as denoted by k

represents the nature of the wind (variability
or stability of the wind). For most fairly wind
site, the value of k ranges between 1.51-1.99.
Smaller values of k correspond to highly
variable or gust wind,
whereas k =2 corresponds to moderate wind
k>or equal to 3 indicates regular, steady
wind.

This graph shows the Weibull distribution for various values of k

WEIBULL PARAMETERS
There are several methods available for
determining the Weibull parameter c and k.
These include,
Least squares fit method
The Maximum likelihood method
Mean Wind Speed and Standard deviation
analysis

One of the widely accepted

and used
approximations for c and k is Mean Wind Speed and
Standard deviation analysis

WIND ROSE
A wind rose is a graphical tool used by
meteorologists to give a brief and clear
view of how wind speed and direction are
typically distributed at a particular location.
The wind rose presented in circular format
shows the frequency of winds blowing
from particular directions.

Wind Roses for each month

Wind Rose for one year

ANNUAL ENERGY PRODUCTION

To estimate the annual energy production from a given
machine at a site, power curve method can be used
since this method gives most realistic results.
The wind speed frequency distribution will be used to
estimate the annual energy production of a wind
turbine by multiplying the number of hours in each
interval with the power output that the windmill
generates at that wind speed interval.
If the frequency distribution of wind speed at the hub
height is not available, the wind speed at the hub height
level is to be generated by the power law equation.

ANNUAL ENERGY PRODUCTION

Percentage frequency

distribution of wind speed

Wind Turbine Power Curve

GE 1.5xle - 1.5 MW
1600

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Hours/
Year
0.0
434.4
823.4
1,098.6
1,228.7
1,216.5
1,092.3
900.8
687.5
487.9
323.0
200.0
115.9
63.0
32.1
15.4
6.9
2.9
1.2
0.4
0.2
0.1

1400
1200
Turbine Output (kW)

Wind
Speed
(m/s)

1000
800
600
400
200
0
0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Wind Speed (m /s)

Annual capacity factor = (Actual energy

produced during year) / (capacity * 8760)

Percentage
distribution
speed

frequency
of
wind

Based on this Calculate

Estimate
the
annual
energy production

INDIAN WIND ATLAS at 50 & 80 M HEIGHT

Wind Data Representation

Sensor Height 50m

NORTH

20%
15%
10%
5%
WEST

EAST

Velocity (m/s)

SOUTH

20 - 25
15 - 20
10 - 15
5 - 10
0-5

Conclucion
Combination of sound siting, appropriate tower, quality
instruments at multiple levels, systematic data collection and
data processing under strict quality control is the success of
any wind resource assessment program.

94