3TIER, a Seattle-headquartered provider of wind energy assessment and forecasting tools, described new and forthcoming forecasting tools at the recent Canadian Wind Energy Association 2007 Annual Conference in Quebec City.
‘To address the problems resulting from rapid ramp events, 3TIER is currently building a prototype day-ahead forecast system,’ said Eric Grimit, a numerical weather prediction scientist at 3TIER. ‘It will allow people to have the information they need in real-time so they can make informed operational decisions for their wind projects.’
In addition, at the recent World Wind Energy Conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Cameron Potter, a power prediction engineer at 3TIER, provided a presentation on how numerical weather models offer a more accurate method of determining regional power curves.
‘When looking at an entire wind farm, relying on a single deterministic power curve to convert wind speed to power output is inadequate,’ explained Potter. ‘Instead, a more advanced simulation technique must be used. We have found that our models provide more accurate information by looking at characteristics from not just one point, but from several hundred locations within a region.’
