Analysis of the Use of Remote Sensing Measurements for Developing Wind Power Projects

Abstract

Micrositing wind flow modeling presents one of the most relevant uncertainties in the project of wind power plants. Studies in the area indicate that the average uncertainty related to this item varies between 2.4% and 8% of the annual energy production (AEP). The most efficient form to mitigate this uncertainty is to obtain additional measurements from the site. This can be achieved by installing met masts and by applying short-term remote sensing campaigns (LIDAR and SODAR). Ideally, measurement campaigns should have at least one complete year of data to capture seasonal changes in the local wind behavior and to increase the long-term representation of the sample. However, remote sensing is frequently performed in reduced periods of measurement, coming down to months or even weeks of campaign. The main contribution of this paper is to analyze whether short-term remote sensing measurements contribute to the development of wind power projects, given the associated uncertainties due to low representativeness of the reduced data sample. This study was performed using over 60 years of wind measurement data. Its main findings indicate that the contribution of short-term remote sensing campaigns vary depending on the complexity of the local terrain, and the respective uncertainty related to horizontal and vertical extrapolation of micrositing models. The results showed that in only 30% of the cases, a 3 month measurement campaign reduced the projects overall uncertainty. This number increases to 50% for a 6 month campaign and 90% for a 10 month campaign.