Rotor-area wind characteristics and connections with synoptic-scale drivers

Abstract: Wind speed is the most important determinant of wind energy generation but the profile of turbulence, wind shear, and wind veer across a wind turbine’s rotor area can further enhance or reduce power output. In this talk I’ll share results from a collaborative project with Jacob Coburn (Cornell University) that uses wind profile measurements from the Eolos Wind Research Station in Rosemount, Minnesota, to characterize the diurnal and seasonal variability of rotor-area winds and their connections with synoptic-scale weather patterns. Using a cluster-based classification scheme, we identify 15 synoptic (weather) patterns at the Eolos site and derive mean wind profile characteristics for each pattern. We use our synoptic classification in a simple regression model to show that a synoptic classification that incorporates wind profile data can enhance wind energy projections at monthly to seasonal time scales that often rely on wind speed alone.

 

Bio: Kathy Klink is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society. Her research focuses on climate variability and change, with particular interests in the climatology of wind and connections with wind energy generation, and the local impacts of urban land use on the urban heat island. She started her career in meteorology but once she discovered Geography, she knew that was the place for her.