Analysis of Extreme Winds at Pacific Northwest Wind Energy Survey Sites.

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7051337· OSTI ID:7051337

Wade, John Edward; Wittrup, R J

The purpose of this report is to examine extreme winds at wind energy survey sites in the Pacific Northwest and to forecast future extremes. Additionally this report reviews previous estimates of extreme winds in the Pacific Northwest and evaluates available statistical approaches to extreme wind estimates. A review of the literature on wind indicated the most widely used extreme wind statistic is the one minute mean fastest wind speed. However, in this study the data that were available for use were hourly average extreme winds and peak 2 second gusts or instantaneous gusts. This information was collected as part of Bonneville Power Administrations Wind Energy Resource Assessment Program. Among the problems encountered in extreme wind estimation is the lack of long term continuous, uniform data sets. Frequent changes in anemometer height and location have plagued analysis of extreme winds. Conventional methods of estimating extreme winds requires data collected over 20 to 30 years. However in this study, data records seldom exceed two to three years and the longest are only 10 years. Different averaging times and data collection techniques have been noted as significant obstacles to uniform data sets. Another significant problem with many data sets is the problem of the dynamic range of the measuring instrument being insufficient to record the strongest winds. 45 refs., 32 figs., 23 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (USA). Wind Resources Assessment Lab.
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/MA
• DOE Contract Number: BI79-86BP63406
• OSTI ID: 7051337
• Report Number(s): DOE/BP-63406-1; ON: DE90009461
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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17 WIND ENERGY
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ACCELERATION
ACCURACY
ANEMOMETERS
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
COLUMBIA RIVER
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DATA BASE MANAGEMENT
DATA PROCESSING
DEMOGRAPHY
DISASTERS
ENERGY MODELS
FEDERAL REGION X
FORECASTING
FUNCTIONS
GAUSS FUNCTION
HURRICANES
MANAGEMENT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEASURING METHODS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
PLANNING
POWER PLANTS
PRESSURE EFFECTS
PROBABILITY
PROCESSING
RECOMMENDATIONS
RELIABILITY
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
RIVERS
SHEAR
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
STATISTICAL MODELS
STORMS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
TRANSIENTS
TURBULENCE
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
VELOCITY
VERIFICATION
WEATHER
WIND
WIND POWER PLANTS
Wind forecasting - Northwest
Pacific