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Title: County-level wind resource estimates for DOE Region V. Final report

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5540108· OSTI ID:5540108

The objectives of the study were to develop an annual mean wind speed forecasting model for site-specific applications in the Great Lakes region; develop an annual mean power law exponent model for the region; utilize the models to characterize county-level wind resources for residential, agricultural, commercial, and industrial market sectors; and identify normalized values for average diurnal and monthly wind speeds. The analysis was based on the evaluation of wind speed and topographical data for 124 sites in and around the Great Lakes region. With the use of regression analysis techniques, wind speed to various independent variables such as Pacific Northwest Laboratories' forecast for the area; average angular horizon; site elevation; and percentage of land covered by forests. The wind speed forecast equations and topographic maps for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin were used to characterize the wind resource for each of the 524 counties in Region V. Of the 524 counties, 241 had some areas with wind resources greater than 5 m/s, and only 24 counties had some areas where the average mean wind speed exceeded 6 m/s. At the state level, Minnesota has the highest average wind speeds in the region, while Indiana has the lowest.

Research Organization:
PRC Systems Services Co., McLean, VA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-77CH00178
OSTI ID:
5540108
Report Number(s):
SERI/STR-214-1708; ON: DE84000009
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English