Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has applied for a patent on a new wind display. The display illustrates the last three hours of data from 14 new BPA weather stations as animated ‘windsocks’ moving and changing shape to reflect wind conditions. The display is designed to give power managers an instant picture of regional wind and weather conditions at a glance.
BPA installed the 14 weather stations last year to help improve forecasts of wind and the energy it generates so that BPA and wind energy producers can better anticipate power flows through the northwest electric grid. The weather stations stretch from the coast to eastern Oregon and Washington.
The online display animates the windsocks in five-minute increments over the preceding three hours. The windsocks often swing around and grow as storm fronts, which drive higher winds that generate more energy, sweep into the region. The new display combined with BPA's real-time chart of energy generation provides a look at the relationship between northwest weather and wind energy.
The weather stations also provide temperature, barometric pressure and humidity data, which are visible by hovering your mouse over each station on the animated map.
The display is available at bpa.gov and requires Java Runtime 5.0.
SOURCE: Bonneville Power Administration
