6

Wind Energy Resources*

6.1 Wind Origins ........................................................................ 6-1

6.2 Wind Power........................................................................... 6-1
6.3 Wind Shear............................................................................ 6-2
6.4 Wind Energy Resource......................................................... 6-2
6.5 Wind Characterization ......................................................... 6-6
6.6 Wind Energy Potential ......................................................... 6-6
Defining Terms ................................................................................. 6-6
Dale E. Berg References.......................................................................................... 6-6
Sandia National Laboratories For Further Information.................................................................. 6-7

6.1 Wind Origins

The primary causes of atmospheric air motion, or wind, are uneven heating of the Earth by solar
radiation and the Earth’s rotation. Differences in solar radiation absorption at the surface of the Earth
and transference back to the atmosphere create differences in atmospheric temperature, density, and
pressure, which in turn create forces that move air from one place to another. For example, land and
water along a coastline absorb radiation differently, and this is the dominant cause of the light winds
or breezes normally found along a coast. The Earth’s rotation gives rise to semipermanent global wind
patterns such as trade winds, westerlies, easterlies, and subtropical and polar jets.

6.2 Wind Power

The available power in the wind with air density r, passing through an area A, perpendicular to the wind,
at a velocity U, is given by

1
Power Z rAU 3 ð6:1Þ
2
Air density decreases with increasing temperature and increasing altitude above sea level. The effect of
temperature on density is relatively weak and is normally ignored because these variations tend to
average out over the period of a year. The density difference due to altitude, however, is significant; it does
not average out and cannot be ignored. For example, the air density at Denver, Colorado (elevation
1600 m, or 5300 ft., above sea level), is approximately 14% lower than at sea level, so wind at Denver
contains 14% less power than wind of the same velocity at sea level.

*
This work was supported by the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

6-1

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6-2 Energy Conversion

From Equation 6.1, it is obvious that the most important factor in the available wind power is the
velocity of the wind—an increase in wind velocity of only 20%, e.g., from 5 to 6 m/s (11.2–13.4 mph),
yields a 73% increase in available wind power.

6.3 Wind Shear

Wind moving across the Earth’s surface is slowed by trees, buildings, grass, rocks, and other obstructions
in its path. The result is a wind velocity that varies with height above the Earth’s surface—a phenomena
known as wind shear. For most situations, wind shear is positive (wind speed increases with height), but
situations in which the wind shear is negative or inverse are not unusual. In the absence of actual data for
a specific site, a commonly used approximation for wind shear in an open area is:

 a
U h
Z ð6:2Þ
U0 h0

where
UZthe velocity at a height h
U0Zthe measured velocity at height h0
aZthe wind shear exponent.
The wind shear exponent, a, varies with terrain characteristics, but usually falls between 0.10 and 0.25.
Wind over a body of open water is normally well modeled by a value of a of about 0.10; wind over a
smooth, level, grass-covered terrain such as the U.S. Great Plains by an a of about 0.14; wind over row
crops or low bushes with a few scattered trees by an a of 0.20; and wind over a heavy stand of trees, several
buildings, or hilly or mountainous terrain by an a of about 0.25. Short-term shear factors as large as 1.25
have been documented in rare, isolated cases.
The available wind power at a site can vary dramatically with height due to wind shear. For example,
for aZ0.20, Equation 6.1 and Equation 6.2 reveal that the available wind power at a height of 50 m is
approximately {(50/10)0.2}3Z2.63 times the available wind power at a height of 10 m.

6.4 Wind Energy Resource

The amount of energy available in the wind (the wind energy resource) is the average amount of power
available in the wind over a specified period of time—commonly 1 year. If the wind speed is 20 m/s, the
available power is very large at that instant, but if it only blows at that speed for 10 h per year and the rest
of the time the wind speed is near zero, the resource for the year is small. Therefore, the site wind speed
distribution, or the relative frequency of occurrence for each wind speed, is very important in
determining the resource. This distribution is often presented as a probability density function, such
as the one shown in Figure 6.1. The probability that the wind occurs in any given wind speed range is
given by the area under the density function for that wind speed range. If the actual wind speed
probability density distribution is not available, it is commonly approximated with the Rayleigh
distribution, given by:

 
p U p U2
f ðUÞ Z exp K ð6:3Þ
4 U 4 U2

where
f(U)Zthe frequency of occurrence of wind speed U
UZthe yearly average wind speed.

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Wind Energy Resources 6-3

Wind speed distribution

0.08

Amarillo, TX Airport
0.07
Rayleigh (6.6 m/s)
0.06
Probability density

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.00
0 5 10 15 20
Wind speed, m/s

FIGURE 6.1 Rayleigh and measured wind speed distributions.

The measured wind speed distribution at the Amarillo, Texas, airport (yearly average wind speed of
6.6 m/s) is plotted in Figure 6.1, together with the Rayleigh distribution for that wind speed. It is obvious
that the Rayleigh distribution is not a good representation for the Amarillo airport.
How large is the wind energy resource? Even though wind energy is very diffuse, the total resource is
very, very large. In the U.S. and many other countries around the world, the resource is large enough to
supply the entire current energy consumption of the country, potentially. In 1987, scientists at Batelle
Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) in the U.S. carefully analyzed and interpreted the available long-
term wind data for the U.S. and summarized their estimate of the wind energy resources in the Wind
Energy Resource Atlas of the United States (Elliott et al. 1987). Their summary for the entire U.S. is
reproduced in Figure 6.2. The results are presented in terms of wind power classes based on the annual
average power available per square meter of intercepted area (see the legend on Figure 6.2).
Scientists at Denmark’s Risø National Laboratory have produced a European wind atlas (Troen and
Petersen 1989) that estimates the wind resources of the European Community countries and summarizes
the resource available at a 50 m height for five different topographic conditions. A summary of these
results is reproduced in Figure 6.3. The estimates presented in Figure 6.2 and Figure 6.3 are quite crude
and have been superceded in recent years by much higher resolution maps, made possible by
improvements in wind resource computer modeling programs and increases in computer speed.
Many countries around the world have recently embarked on high-resolution mapping efforts to
quantify their wind resources and identify those areas of highest resource accurately. The resultant
resource maps are frequently available to the public, but in some cases a payment is required to obtain
them. High-resolution wind resource maps of the individual states in the U.S. may be found on the Web
at www.eere.energy.gov/windpoweringamerica/wind_resources.html. Similar maps for some other
countries may be found at www.rsvp.nrel.gov/wind_resources.html, and information on where to find
maps and/or data for other countries may be found at www.windatlas.dk/index.htm.
Remember that even the highest resolution resource estimates are just that—estimates. The actual
wind resources in any specific area can vary dramatically from those estimates and should be determined
with long-term, site-specific measurements.

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 6-4
ALASKA

PRINCIPAL
HAWAIIAN Classes of wind power density
ISLANDS 10m (33 ft) 50m (164 ft)
Wind PUERTO RICO
power Wind power Speed Wind power Speed
class W/m2 m/s mph W/m2 m/s mph

Energy Conversion
0 0 0 0 0 0
1
100 4.4 9.8 200 5.6 12.5
2 150 5.1 11.5 300 6.4 14.3
3
200 5.6 12.5 400 7.0 15.7
4 250 6.0 13.4 500 7.5 16.8
5 300 6.4 14.3 600 8.0 17.9
6 400 7.0 15.7 800 8.8 19.7
7
1000 9.4 21.1 2000 11.9 26.6
Ridge crest estimates (Local relief>1000 ft)

FIGURE 6.2 Map of U.S. wind energy resources. Reproduced from Elliott et al. Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States. (Courtesy of National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, Golden, Colorado.)

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Wind Energy Resources 6-5

FIGURE 6.3 Map of European wind energy resources. Reproduced from Troen and Petersen, 1989. European Wind
Atlas. (Courtesy of Risø National Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark.)

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6-6 Energy Conversion

6.5 Wind Characterization

Wind speed, direction, distribution, and shear can vary significantly over fairly short distances in the
horizontal or vertical directions, so in order to get the best possible estimate of the wind energy resource
at a particular location, it is important to measure the wind resource at the specific site and height of
interest. However, a comprehensive site characterization normally requires measuring the wind for at
least 12 months, according to meteorologists at PNL (Wegley et al. 1980). This is a very time-consuming
and potentially expensive effort. Long-term data from the nearest airport or weather recording station
can help determine whether the data obtained at a site are representative of normal winds for the site or
of higher or lower than average winds. Wegley et al. (1980) and Gipe (1993) give suggestions on methods
of using available data from nearby sites to estimate site wind speed with minimal on-site data.
Sites of wind power class 4 or above (at least 200 W/m2 at 10 m height or 400 W/m2 at 50 m height) are
often considered economic for utility-scale wind power development with available wind technology.
Sites of wind power class 3 (150–200 W/m2 at 10 m height or 300–400 W/m2 at 50 m height) are not
considered economic for utility development today but are likely to become economic with near-term
wind technology advances. Sites of wind power class 2 or lower (less than 150 W/m2 at 10 m height or
300 W/m2 at 50 m height) are usually considered economic only for remote or hybrid wind power systems.

6.6 Wind Energy Potential

With a wind speed distribution and a turbine power curve (the electrical power generated by the turbine
at each wind speed) properly adjusted for the local air density, the wind energy potential, or gross
annual wind energy production, for a specific site can be estimated as:
" #
X
n
Energy Z 0:85 8760 f ðUi Þ D Ui PðUi Þ ð6:4Þ
iZ1

where
8760Zthe number of hours in a year
nZthe number of wind speeds considered
f(Ui)DUiZthe probability of a wind speed occurring in the wind-speed range DUi
P(Ui)Zthe electrical power produced by the turbine at wind speed Ui, the center of the range DUi.
The leading 0.85 factor assumes 15% in losses (10% due to power transfer to the grid, control system
losses, and decreased performance due to dirty blades; 5% due to operation within an array of wind
turbines). If the turbine is not inside an array, replace 0.85 with 0.90. Wind energy potential is typically
20%–35% of the wind energy resource.

Defining Terms
Wind energy potential: Total amount of energy that can actually be extracted from the wind, taking into
account the efficiency of the wind turbine.
Wind energy resource: Total amount of energy present in the wind.
Wind shear: Change in wind velocity with increasing height above the ground.
Wind speed distribution: Probability density of occurrence of each wind speed over the course of a year
for the site in question.

References
Elliott, D. L., Holladay, C. G., Barchet, W. R., Foote, H. P., and Sandusky, W. F. 1987. Wind Energy Resource
Atlas of the United States, DOE/CH10094-4. Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, Colorado.

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Wind Energy Resources 6-7

Gipe, P. 1993. Wind Power for Home & Business—Renewable Energy for the 1990s and Beyond. Chelsea
Green Publishing Company, Post Mills, VT.
Troen, I. and Petersen, E. L. 1989. European Wind Atlas. Risø National Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark.
Wegley, H. L., Ramsdell, J. V., Orgill, M. M., and Drake, R. L. 1980. A Siting Handbook for Small Wind
Energy Conversion Systems, PNL-2521. Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA.

For Further Information

Wind Characteristics—An Analysis for the Generation of Wind Power, Rohatgi, J. S. and Nelson, V.,
Alternative Energy Institute, West Texas A&M University, is an excellent source for additional
information on the wind resource.
Wind Turbine Technology, Fundamental Concepts of Wind Turbine Engineering, Spera, D., ed., ASME Press,
New York, contains a wealth of information on wind energy resources, history, and technology,
together with extensive reference lists.
Extensive information on wind energy resources and technology may also be found on the World Wide
Web. Excellent sites to start with include those of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Wind Energy Technology Center at www.nwtc.nrel.gov; the Danish Risø National Laboratory at
www.risoe.dk/vea/index.htm; the American Wind Energy Association at www.awea.org; the British
Wind Energy Association at www.britishwindenergy.co.uk; and the European Wind Energy
Association at www.ewea.org.

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