USA - India Added to windNavigator

AWS Truewind, LLC, today announced the addition of wind resource data for India to its web-based wind prospecting application windNavigator™. A state-of-the-art interactive tool based on the popular GoogleMaps®, windNavigator allows for the convenient exploration of highly accurate and detailed wind resource maps and data.

“For over a decade AWS Truewind has been the leader in the science and application of wind mapping for all types of wind climates worldwide,” according to AWS Truewind President/CEO Bruce Bailey. “Our emphasis on high-resolution modeling and extensive validation has resulted in products that energy developers and government planners rely upon for siting projects and assessing development potential.”

“windNavigator makes our mapping products more accessible to support the accelerating expansion of wind power around the world,” Dr. Bailey adds.

Visitors of the website will be able to view the wind resource of the entire country, free of charge, at a 2.5 kilometer grid cell resolution. Visitors interested in purchasing high-resolution maps and data can do so by contacting the firm directly. Online purchases will become available in the near future.

The wind resource analysis of India revealed land areas with excellent wind project potential where wind speeds exceed 9.0 m/s at 80 meter hub height in some of the higher elevations. Lower elevation areas also show promise with speeds at 100 m height ranging from 6.5 m/s - 8.0 m/s. The significant resource coupled with continued government support makes India a very attractive location for wind development.

Jim Adams, AWS Truewind’s Director of Business Development, anticipates the country will be significant in the global wind industry going forward. “With an estimated potential of 65,000 MW and a growth rate of 28% in 2007 (8000 MW installed currently), India represents one of the largest potential markets for wind energy development worldwide in the coming years.”

High-resolution wind resource maps are extremely valuable in assessing wind development potential for large areas, particularly when traditional measurements are scarce. windNavigator is the most reliable resource available on the market for energy developers and government planners. The process of identifying promising sites for renewable energy development throughout the country will be greatly accelerated and all invested parties will have a much higher confidence level. windNavigator presents a win-win for anyone involved in renewable energy development.

The maps for India delivered through windNavigator were created by AWS Truewind’s MesoMap® system, well known in the wind industry as the technology behind ground-breaking wind maps published over the past decade for over half of the US states as well as many other countries.

Purchasing options for the high-resolution data are geared toward diverse end users and various phases of project development. For preliminary prospecting, PDF maps at one of three hub heights provide a fast and easy way to better understand the wind resource across a defined area. For users looking to dig deeper, the GIS data set is an interactive option that allows for view customization, incorporation of other data layers (e.g. land parcels), and printable maps at any scale. The GIS data set also includes a gross capacity factor layer at 80 m based on a generic megawatt-class turbine, as well as high resolution DEM (digital elevation model) and land cover data. With this comprehensive information, AWS Truewind believes project developers will be well equipped to begin charting their course to project realization.

Key features of windNavigator include:
- Convenience: Online access available anytime, anywhere; all the user needs is an internet connection.
- Reliability: Backed by MesoMap, the most widely tested and validated wind mapping system in use today, high-resolution maps and data have a typical accuracy range of 5-7% in mean speed at hub height.
- Detail: High-resolution wind information at a refined grid scale of 200 m, plus multiple heights above ground. Terrain and demographic data available, too.
- Customization: Project-scale maps and GIS data provide a clear picture of the wind resource and its spatial variability over an area of the user’s choosing.