Presentation of Wind Data

 The wind energy that is available at a specific

site is usually presented on an annual basis.
 There are several methods by which this data
can be presented.
– Some of these methods carry the identical
information, presented from slightly different
viewpoints.
 The goal is to evaluate the energy that can be
produced from the wind at a site.
 Presentation of Wind Data
 Wind data is usually summarized by annual averages
and totals.
– This can be a bit misleading, since seasonal variations are
significant.
 In some cases, monthly averages are also presented.
– For non-grid-connected turbines, the annual peak winds may
not correspond to the peak electrical energy demands.
 Typical plots that describe annual wind data are shown
on the next several slides.
 Wind Speed Frequency Distribution Plots
 One method of presenting wind speed data is to produce a
histogram of the number of hours each year that the wind speed
is within a certain band.
 An example is shown below:
1200

1000

800
Annual H ours

600

400

200

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Wind Speed (m/sec)
 Normalized Wind Speed Frequency Diagrams
 Rather than report the total time the wind is within a certain
band, sometimes the data is normalized by dividing by the total
number of hours.
 The result is a probability vs. wind speed histogram.
14.00%

12.00%

10.00%
Probability (%)

8.00%

6.00%

4.00%

2.00%

0.00%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Wind Speed (m/sec)
 The Weibull Distribution
 Most wind data is modeled analytically by assuming it follows a Weibull
probability distribution function.
– If P(V) is the probability of the wind being at speed V, then the Weibull
distribution is given by:
  V k 
k 1   
k V
P V     e   C  

C C
– The parameters k and C are called the scale and shape parameters, respectively,
and are chosen to fit the data.
– C has dimensions of velocity, and k is dimensionless.
 It is convenient to work with an equation rather than discrete data.
The Weibull Distribution Continued
14.00%
  V k 
k 1    
k V
12.00%
P V     e   C  

10.00%
VC
Probability (%)

8.00%

6.00%

4.00%

2.00%

0.00%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Wind Speed (m/sec)
 The Cumulative Wiebull Distribution
 The cumulative distribution Pc(V) gives the probability
of the wind speed exceeding a certain value:
P V   P V
%dV
V
c
%
0
%k
V k V% k 1   VC 
 e %
dV
0 C C
 
 
Integrate by substitution:
k k 1 k 1
 V  V  1 k  V
u=   du  k     dV    dV
 C  C C C  C
k k
 V  V
Pc V 
   u  C 

0
C
e  u du   e 0
k
 V
 
 C
  1 e
Plot of the Cumulative Weibull
Distribution
100.00%

90.00%

80.00%

70.00%
k
V
% time wind speed exceeds V

 
Pc  V   e
60.00%

C
50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Wind Speed, V (m/sec)
Development of a Weibull Estimate
from Wind Data
 The Wind Rose
 Wind speed frequency diagrams do not provide
information on the direction that the wind is blowing.
 This is often done by a graph called a “wind rose.”
 A wind rose is a polar plot giving the direction,
magnitude, and cube of the magnitude of the wind.
– The data is usually averaged over a year.
– In some cases, shorter time periods, such as months, may be
appropriate.
 Description of the Wind Rose Plot
 The polar plot is usually broken up into 12 30° sectors, and average
data is presented over each sector.
 The first rose “petal” in a given direction is the fraction of the time,
normalized to 100%, that the wind is blowing from that direction.
 The second petal is the fraction of time wind blows from a
particular direction multiplied by the average wind speed in that
direction, and normalized to 100%.
 The second petal is the fraction of time wind blows from a
particular direction multiplied by the average cube of the wind
speed from that direction, and normalized to 100%.
 The last two petals give information about how “useful” the wind
is from a given direction.
– For example, if the wind usually blows from a particular direction, but not
very hard.
Wind Rose Examples
Direction
Speed
Energy
 Use of the Wind Rose
 The wind rose gives a graphical interpretation of much
of the data that is considered when evaluating a wind
power site.
 The second plot (previous slide) shows the wind and
most of the wind energy comes from a prevailing
direction.
– In this case, the site can be designed with this in mind, and
turbine technology with limited ability to rotate into the wind
can be considered.
 Link to Wind Rose Applet:
– www.windpower.org/en/tour/wres/roseplot.htm
 Wind Speed Power Curves for Specific Turbines

 A wind turbine power curve shows the rated power as a

function of wind speed, as follows:
2000

Rated Power
1800

1600

1400

1200
Power (kW)

1000

800

600

400

Cut in speed Shut Down speed

200 Rated speed

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Wind Speed (m/sec)
 Wind Speed Power Curves

 Wind speed power curves, when considered with

wind speed frequency diagrams, allow the
calculation of the total power that can be
produced at a site.
 This allows the designer to choose turbine
technology appropriate for a given situation.
 In addition, the wind rose illustrates the
requirements for swiveling, etc.