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| Georgia Wind Speed at 90M |
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The Georgia Wind Resource Map
The Georgia Wind Map was prepared by AWS Truewind, and was funded by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in conjunction with activities of the Georgia Wind Working Group.
Purpose and Uses of the Wind Map
The performance and economics of wind energy systems are very sensitive to the magnitude and variability of the wind resource, which by nature is highly site specific. A site’s wind conditions are influenced by regional weather patterns as well as many other factors, including the elevation of the site relative to surrounding lands, the shape and orientation of the terrain, the vegetative cover, the size and proximity of local buildings and other obstacles, and the nearness to shorelines. Historically, most wind measurements have been taken at airport weather stations located in urban and suburban areas. These weather stations are widely separated and generally do not represent the wind conditions found over the intervening hills, mountains, valleys, plains and shorelines. Without initiating a site-specific wind measurement program, it is difficult to determine whether the local wind resources are sufficient for a wind energy system to be feasible.
The purpose of the Georgia Wind Map is to help overcome this barrier through the application of an advanced numerical atmospheric model that integrates existing surface and upper-air wind data and produces high-resolution estimates of the wind resource throughout the region, including offshore waters. The Wind Map is intended for a wide variety of users, including government planners, private energy developers, electric utilities, private individuals and businesses, and university researchers. However, it is not intended to take the place of on-site measurements, which are required for the development of utility-scale wind projects.
The Map and associated databases provide information important to the preliminary evaluation of prospective wind energy sites and the estimation of wind turbine performance. The available wind statistics onshore include monthly and seasonal average wind speed at 50 m above effective ground level, as well as annual average wind speed and power density at 30, 70, and 90 m. Offshore, the available statistics include average annual wind speed at 10, 30, 50, 90, 150, and 300 m as well as power density at 50 and 90 m and an estimated capacity factor at 90 m.
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