Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Evaluating mesoscale model predictions of diurnal speedup events in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area of California

Journal Article · · Wind Energy Science (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [6]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  3. NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
  4. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
  5. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  6. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Mesoscale model predictions of wind, turbulence, and wind energy capacity factors are evaluated in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area of California (APWRA), where the diurnal regional sea breeze and associated terrain-driven speedup flows drive wind energy production during the summer months. Results from the Weather Research and Forecasting model version 4.4 using a novel three-dimensional planetary boundary layer (3D PBL) scheme, which treats both vertical and horizontal turbulent mixing, are compared to those using a well-established one-dimensional (1D) scheme that treats only vertical turbulent mixing. Each configuration is evaluated over a nearly 3-month-long period during the Hill Flow Study, and due to the recurring nature of the observed speedup flows, diurnal composite averaging is used to capture robust trends in model performance. Both model configurations showed similar overall skill. The general timing and direction of the speedup flows is captured, but their magnitude is overestimated within a typical wind turbine rotor layer. Both also fail to capture a persistent observed near-surface jet-like flow, likely due to the limited grid resolution that is typical of mesoscale models. However, the 3D PBL configuration shows several minor improvements over the 1D PBL configuration, including improved wind speed and turbulence kinetic energy profiles during the accelerating phase of the speedup events, as well as reduced positive wind speed bias at surface stations across the APWRA region. Using a mesoscale wind farm parameterization, modeled capacity factors are also compared to monthly data reported to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) during the study period. Although the monthly trend in the data is captured, both model configurations overestimate capacity factors by roughly 7 %–11 %. Through model evaluation, this study provides confidence in the 3D PBL scheme for wind energy applications in complex terrain and provides guidance for future testing.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; AC36-08GO28308; AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
2584394
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2571687
OSTI ID: 3003450
Report Number(s):
LLNL--JRNL-870130; NREL/JA--5000-91491; PNNL-SA--205190
Journal Information:
Wind Energy Science (Online), Journal Name: Wind Energy Science (Online) Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 10; ISSN 2366-7451
Publisher:
Copernicus PublicationsCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (50)

Nested mesoscale‐to‐LES modeling of the atmospheric boundary layer in the presence of under‐resolved convective structures journal August 2017
Coupled mesoscale‐ LES modeling of a diurnal cycle during the CWEX ‐13 field campaign: From weather to boundary‐layer eddies journal July 2017
Do we really need rotor equivalent wind speed? journal March 2019
Meso- and Fine-Scale Modeling over Complex Terrain: Parameterizations and Applications book April 2012
Air quality model performance evaluation journal June 2004
An Improved Mellor–Yamada Level-3 Model: Its Numerical Stability and Application to a Regional Prediction of Advection Fog journal March 2006
The Impact of Three-Dimensional Effects on the Simulation of Turbulence Kinetic Energy in a Major Alpine Valley journal February 2018
On the use of a coordinate transformation for the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations journal February 1975
Influence of atmospheric stability on wind farm performance in complex terrain journal January 2021
Measuring turbine inflow with vertically-profiling lidar in complex terrain journal July 2015
Radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models journal January 2008
Development of a turbulence closure model for geophysical fluid problems journal January 1982
Wind power curve modeling in complex terrain using statistical models journal January 2015
Three-Dimensional Planetary Boundary Layer Parameterization for High-Resolution Mesoscale Simulations journal January 2020
Rotor equivalent wind speed for power curve measurement – comparative exercise for IEA Wind Annex 32 journal June 2014
Conically scanning lidar error in complex terrain [Conically scanning lidar error in complex terrain] journal May 2009
Summer Wind Flow Regimes over the Sacramento Valley journal October 1999
Analytic Prediction of the Properties of Stratified Planetary Surface Layers journal September 1973
A Hierarchy of Turbulence Closure Models for Planetary Boundary Layers journal October 1974
Toward Numerical Modeling in the “Terra Incognita” journal July 2004
General Circulation Experiments with the Primitive Equations: i. the Basic Experiment* journal March 1963
The Second Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP2): General Overview journal September 2019
Improving Wind Energy Forecasting through Numerical Weather Prediction Model Development journal November 2019
On the Ability of the WRF Model to Reproduce the Surface Wind Direction over Complex Terrain journal July 2013
WRF Model Study of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet: Effects of Grid Spacing and Boundary Layer Parameterization journal October 2018
Improved Representation of Horizontal Variability and Turbulence in Mesoscale Simulations of an Extended Cold-Air Pool Event journal June 2022
A Study of Aerosol Impacts on Clouds and Precipitation Development in a Large Winter Cyclone journal October 2014
Limitations of One-Dimensional Mesoscale PBL Parameterizations in Reproducing Mountain-Wave Flows journal July 2016
Can Wind Lidars Measure Turbulence? journal July 2011
Local and Mesoscale Impacts of Wind Farms as Parameterized in a Mesoscale NWP Model journal September 2012
A North American Hourly Assimilation and Model Forecast Cycle: The Rapid Refresh journal April 2016
Incorporation of the Rotor-Equivalent Wind Speed into the Weather Research and Forecasting Model’s Wind Farm Parameterization journal March 2019
Evaluation of the Impact of Horizontal Grid Spacing in Terra Incognita on Coupled Mesoscale–Microscale Simulations Using the WRF Framework journal March 2019
Mesoscale to Microscale Simulations over Complex Terrain with the Immersed Boundary Method in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model journal January 2020
Characterizing NWP Model Errors Using Doppler-Lidar Measurements of Recurrent Regional Diurnal Flows: Marine-Air Intrusions into the Columbia River Basin journal February 2020
Two Corrections for Turbulent Kinetic Energy Generated by Wind Farms in the WRF Model journal December 2020
Improved Prediction of Cold-Air Pools in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model Using a Truly Horizontal Diffusion Scheme for Potential Temperature journal January 2021
“Gray Zone” Simulations Using a Three-Dimensional Planetary Boundary Layer Parameterization in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model journal July 2022
Assessment of Five Wind-Farm Parameterizations in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model: A Case Study of Wind Farms in the North Sea journal September 2023
Measurements and Model Improvement: Insight into NWP Model Error Using Doppler Lidar and Other WFIP2 Measurement Systems journal December 2023
The High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR): An Hourly Updating Convection-Allowing Forecast Model. Part I: Motivation and System Description journal August 2022
What is the smallest physically acceptable scale for 1D turbulence schemes? journal October 2014
Assessing turbulence and mixing parameterizations in the gray-zone of multiscale simulations over mountainous terrain during the METEX21 field experiment journal November 2023
Crossing Multiple Gray Zones in the Transition from Mesoscale to Microscale Simulation over Complex Terrain journal May 2019
Simulating Real Atmospheric Boundary Layers at Gray-Zone Resolutions: How Do Currently Available Turbulence Parameterizations Perform? journal March 2020
Deploying Taller Turbines in Complex Terrain: A Hill Flow Study (HilFlowS) Perspective journal April 2022
Turbulent kinetic energy over large offshore wind farms observed and simulated by the mesoscale model WRF (3.8.1) journal January 2020
Simulated wind farm wake sensitivity to configuration choices in the Weather Research and Forecasting model version 3.8.1 journal January 2020
A case study of wind farm effects using two wake parameterizations in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model (V3.7.1) in the presence of low-level jets journal June 2021
The sensitivity of the Fitch wind farm parameterization to a three-dimensional planetary boundary layer scheme journal October 2022

Similar Records

Evaluating the 3D PBL scheme for wind energy applications in the complex terrain of Altamont Pass, CA
Technical Report · Thu Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · OSTI ID:1964009

Related Subjects

17 WIND ENERGY
numerical weather prediction
planetary boundary layer
wind energy forecasting