anemos becomes leading partner in all meteorological aspects of wind energy use

About

anemos Gesellschaft für Umweltmeteorologie mbH (Anemos) is an internationally acting independent consulting company in the area of wind power meteorology. Since its establishment in 1989, Anemos has become a leading partner through research and development in all meteorological aspects of wind energy use. Anemos customers benefit from more than 20 years of research and development competency in wind energy meteorology

Anemos has introduced the application of complex three-dimensional simulation models for wind potential assessment, particularly over complex terrain and offshore. According to their site specific suitability, simple boundary layer models (WASP) and complex mesoscale models (MM5, METRAS) ensure a high planning reliability for wind farm development and financing.

Services

Site Assessment

The determination of the wind potential and the energy yield calculation for wind farms are the focal points of Anemos. Its core competencies are the analysis of wind information and the numerical atmospheric modeling on all spatial and temporal scales.

Based on existing wind information and the specific site characteristics, Anemos develops an adequate concept for the evaluation of wind farm projects. This concept includes wind measurements, data analyses and numerical modeling, combined in order to minimize uncertainty. Various numerical models and varying analysis procedures are applied. Anemos has the competency as well as the infrastructure for even the most complex atmospheric flow simulations.

The influence of restrictions due to shade impact or sound emissions, variable operation modes for the protection of animal life or sector management is determined by statistical means and time series analysis. A detailed uncertainty consideration, transgression probabilities and information on wind volatility and extreme wind conditions provide the basis for risk assessment.

Wind potential maps

A wind potential study (wind mapping) often forms the first step in wind farm planning. It is suitable for a rather large-scale view on the spatial wind distribution or the detailed search for sites suitable for measuring campaigns or the installation of wind farms.

The spatial resolution may be chosen depending on the client's requirements: from a few hundred meters up to several kilometers. anemos uses suitable flow models and their respective combinations, applicable from local to continental scale.

As a result, a colored wind map with the mean long-year wind speeds for the specified horizontal resolution and height is generated. Additionally, the map includes the most important topographic objects (cities, streets) which enable an easy identification of the areas with favourable wind speeds.

If continuous, time-dependent wind information (e.g. daily or annual course, long-term time series) is required, the anemos wind atlases are available

Energy Yield Calculations

Anemos accompanies projects from initial energy yield estimations over wind measurements to final bankable wind studies as a basis for financial considerations. Whether for the long-term correlation of wind measurements or energy yield data of reference turbines, or to drive more complex flow models ? the data of anemos’s wind atlases are applied in almost every wind study as an additional information source.

Based on the site characteristic and existing wind information, either simple boundary layer models such as WAsP or complex CFD-models for the wind potential calculations are applied. The reports are prepared according to the Technical Guideline TR6 which defines the high-quality standards of German site assessment studies. This Technical Guideline may be purchased from FGW, the Fördergesellschaft Windenergie und andere Erneuerbare Energien e.V..

Risk Analysis

The risk of an investment in a wind farm project is basically determined by the energy yield calculations and the corresponding uncertainty. The uncertainty consideration in a site assessment study usually refers to the applied methods and data base. Apart from these rather technical uncertainties, a comprehensive risk analysis should include the uncertainty of the natural wind variations from year to year.

An analysis of this wind volatility is prepared by anemos based on the long-year high-resolution time series of the anemos wind atlas.

Offshore

The offshore wind field may exhibit a strong spatial variation which cannot be adequately considered with a simple extrapolation of the wind potential from coastal weather stations or offshore measurement locations. For the horizontal and vertical extrapolation, and for the deduction of an offshore wind index complex 3-dimensional atmospheric models are applied (see Wind and Production Index Europe) . A parameterization of the roughness depending on the sea conditions is taken into account as well as the atmospheric stability, which influences the vertical wind profile changing with the temperature layering and the diurnal and annual courses of temperature above sea or land surfaces.

The anemos Offshore wind atlases are correlated with the measurements at the FINO platforms in the North and Baltic Sea. Using these measurements, a detailed 3-dimensional model of the wind field above sea, adapted to the measurements, is generated. These long-term time series are then applied to determine a wind index.

The offshore wind potential studies / site assessment studies of the anemos GmbH adhere to common Metocean data requirements.

Turbulence Intensity

Characteristic ambient turbulence influences the required distances for wind turbines. In order to minimize the uncertainty inherent in the determination of this parameter, the turbulence intensity caused by the surrounding environment is determined using two different methods.

The comparison of these calculated turbulences with real measurements is a part of anemos quality management. Thus, an increasingly sophisticated estimation of the environmental parameters influencing the turbulence intensity is made possible.

Shade and noise

The calculation of noise emissions and shade impact is an integral part of wind park planning. Anemos calculates the impact for the near surroundings according to the respective guidelines and thus helps avoid possible conflicts already in the early planning phase.

For more information on this article or if you would like to know more about what www.windfair.net can offer, please do not hesitate to contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net

www.windfair.net is the largest international B2B Internet platform – ultimately designed for connecting wind energy enthusiasts and companies across the globe!