Articles | Volume 13, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1041-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1041-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Remote-sensing and radiosonde datasets collected in the San Luis Valley during the LAPSE-RATE campaign
School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Center for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Petra M. Klein
School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Center for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Julie K. Lundquist
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA
Sean Waugh
NOAA/OAR/National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1185–1200, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1185-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1185-2022, 2022
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3539–3549, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3539-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3539-2021, 2021
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Nathan J. Agarwal and Julie K. Lundquist
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Miguel Sanchez-Gomez, Georgios Deskos, Mike Optis, Julie K. Lundquist, Michael Sinner, Geng Xia, and Walter Musial
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-152, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-152, 2025
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Geng Xia, Mike Optis, Georgios Deskos, Michael Sinner, Daniel Mulas Hernando, Julie Kay Lundquist, Andrew Kumler, Miguel Sanchez Gomez, Paul Fleming, and Walter Musial
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-154, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-154, 2025
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Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 1681–1705, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1681-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1681-2025, 2025
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Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 1269–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1269-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1269-2025, 2025
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Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 1187–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1187-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1187-2025, 2025
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Nathan J. Agarwal, Julie K. Lundquist, Timothy W. Juliano, and Alex Rybchuk
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Daphne Quint, Julie K. Lundquist, and David Rosencrans
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 117–142, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-117-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-117-2025, 2025
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David Rosencrans, Julie K. Lundquist, Mike Optis, and Nicola Bodini
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 59–81, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-59-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-59-2025, 2025
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The US offshore wind industry is growing rapidly. Expansion into cold climates will subject turbines and personnel to hazardous icing. We analyze the 21-year icing risk for US east coast wind areas based on numerical weather prediction simulations and further assess impacts from wind farm wakes over one winter season. Sea spray icing at 10 m can occur up to 67 h per month. However, turbine–atmosphere interactions reduce icing hours within wind plant areas.
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Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-166, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-166, 2025
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This study investigates how simple terrain can cause significant variations in wind speed, especially during specific atmospheric conditions like low-level jets. By combining simulations and observations from a real wind farm, we found that downstream turbines generate more power than upstream ones, despite wake effects only impacting the upstream turbines. We highlight the crucial role of the strong vertical wind speed gradient in low-level jets in driving this effect.
Rachel Robey and Julie K. Lundquist
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1905–1922, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1905-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1905-2024, 2024
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Measurements of wind turbine wakes with scanning lidar instruments contain complex errors. We model lidars in a simulated environment to understand how and why the measured wake may differ from the true wake and validate the results with observational data. The lidar smooths out the wake, making it seem more spread out and the slowdown of the winds less pronounced. Our findings provide insights into best practices for accurately measuring wakes with lidar and interpreting observational data.
Francesca Lappin, Gijs de Boer, Petra Klein, Jonathan Hamilton, Michelle Spencer, Radiance Calmer, Antonio R. Segales, Michael Rhodes, Tyler M. Bell, Justin Buchli, Kelsey Britt, Elizabeth Asher, Isaac Medina, Brian Butterworth, Leia Otterstatter, Madison Ritsch, Bryony Puxley, Angelina Miller, Arianna Jordan, Ceu Gomez-Faulk, Elizabeth Smith, Steven Borenstein, Troy Thornberry, Brian Argrow, and Elizabeth Pillar-Little
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2525–2541, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2525-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2525-2024, 2024
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This article provides an overview of the lower-atmospheric dataset collected by two uncrewed aerial systems near the Gulf of Mexico coastline south of Houston, TX, USA, as part of the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) campaign. The data were collected through boundary layer transitions, through sea breeze circulations, and in the pre- and near-storm environment to understand how these processes influence the coastal environment.
Nicola Bodini, Mike Optis, Stephanie Redfern, David Rosencrans, Alex Rybchuk, Julie K. Lundquist, Vincent Pronk, Simon Castagneri, Avi Purkayastha, Caroline Draxl, Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, Ethan Young, Billy Roberts, Evan Rosenlieb, and Walter Musial
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1965–2006, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1965-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1965-2024, 2024
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This article presents the 2023 National Offshore Wind data set (NOW-23), an updated resource for offshore wind information in the US. It replaces the Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit, offering improved accuracy through advanced weather prediction models. The data underwent regional tuning and validation and can be accessed at no cost.
David Rosencrans, Julie K. Lundquist, Mike Optis, Alex Rybchuk, Nicola Bodini, and Michael Rossol
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 555–583, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-555-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-555-2024, 2024
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The US offshore wind industry is developing rapidly. Using yearlong simulations of wind plants in the US mid-Atlantic, we assess the impacts of wind turbine wakes. While wakes are the strongest and longest during summertime stably stratified conditions, when New England grid demand peaks, they are predictable and thus manageable. Over a year, wakes reduce power output by over 35 %. Wakes in a wind plant contribute the most to that reduction, while wakes between wind plants play a secondary role.
Miguel Sanchez Gomez, Julie K. Lundquist, Jeffrey D. Mirocha, and Robert S. Arthur
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The wind slows down as it approaches a wind plant; this phenomenon is called blockage. As a result, the turbines in the wind plant produce less power than initially anticipated. We investigate wind plant blockage for two atmospheric conditions. Blockage is larger for a wind plant compared to a stand-alone turbine. Also, blockage increases with atmospheric stability. Blockage is amplified by the vertical transport of horizontal momentum as the wind approaches the front-row turbines in the array.
Paul Veers, Katherine Dykes, Sukanta Basu, Alessandro Bianchini, Andrew Clifton, Peter Green, Hannele Holttinen, Lena Kitzing, Branko Kosovic, Julie K. Lundquist, Johan Meyers, Mark O'Malley, William J. Shaw, and Bethany Straw
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 2491–2496, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2491-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2491-2022, 2022
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Wind energy will play a central role in the transition of our energy system to a carbon-free future. However, many underlying scientific issues remain to be resolved before wind can be deployed in the locations and applications needed for such large-scale ambitions. The Grand Challenges are the gaps in the science left behind during the rapid growth of wind energy. This article explains the breadth of the unfinished business and introduces 10 articles that detail the research needs.
Alex Rybchuk, Timothy W. Juliano, Julie K. Lundquist, David Rosencrans, Nicola Bodini, and Mike Optis
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 2085–2098, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2085-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2085-2022, 2022
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Numerical weather prediction models are used to predict how wind turbines will interact with the atmosphere. Here, we characterize the uncertainty associated with the choice of turbulence parameterization on modeled wakes. We find that simulated wind speed deficits in turbine wakes can be significantly sensitive to the choice of turbulence parameterization. As such, predictions of future generated power are also sensitive to turbulence parameterization choice.
Rachel Robey and Julie K. Lundquist
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4585–4622, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4585-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4585-2022, 2022
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Our work investigates the behavior of errors in remote-sensing wind lidar measurements due to turbulence. Using a virtual instrument, we measured winds in simulated atmospheric flows and decomposed the resulting error. Dominant error mechanisms, particularly vertical velocity variations and interactions with shear, were identified in ensemble data over three test cases. By analyzing the underlying mechanisms, the response of the error behavior to further varying flow conditions may be projected.
James B. Duncan Jr., Laura Bianco, Bianca Adler, Tyler Bell, Irina V. Djalalova, Laura Riihimaki, Joseph Sedlar, Elizabeth N. Smith, David D. Turner, Timothy J. Wagner, and James M. Wilczak
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2479–2502, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2479-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2479-2022, 2022
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In this study, several ground-based remote sensing instruments are used to estimate the height of the convective planetary boundary layer, and their performance is compared against independent boundary layer depth estimates obtained from radiosondes launched as part of the CHEESEHEAD19 field campaign. The impact of clouds (particularly boundary layer clouds) on the estimation of the boundary layer depth is also investigated.
Francesca M. Lappin, Tyler M. Bell, Elizabeth A. Pillar-Little, and Phillip B. Chilson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1185–1200, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1185-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1185-2022, 2022
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This study evaluates how a classically defined variable, air parcel buoyancy, can be used to interpret transitions in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). To capture the high-resolution variations, remotely piloted aircraft systems are used to collect data in two field campaigns. This paper finds that buoyancy has distinct evolutions prior to low-level jet and convective initiation cases. Additionally, buoyancy mixes well to act as an ABL height indicator comparable to other methods.
Vincent Pronk, Nicola Bodini, Mike Optis, Julie K. Lundquist, Patrick Moriarty, Caroline Draxl, Avi Purkayastha, and Ethan Young
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 487–504, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-487-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-487-2022, 2022
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In this paper, we have assessed to which extent mesoscale numerical weather prediction models are more accurate than state-of-the-art reanalysis products in characterizing the wind resource at heights of interest for wind energy. The conclusions of our work will be of primary importance to the wind industry for recommending the best data sources for wind resource modeling.
Adam S. Wise, James M. T. Neher, Robert S. Arthur, Jeffrey D. Mirocha, Julie K. Lundquist, and Fotini K. Chow
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 367–386, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-367-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-367-2022, 2022
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Wind turbine wake behavior in hilly terrain depends on various atmospheric conditions. We modeled a wind turbine located on top of a ridge in Portugal during typical nighttime and daytime atmospheric conditions and validated these model results with observational data. During nighttime conditions, the wake deflected downwards following the terrain. During daytime conditions, the wake deflected upwards. These results can provide insight into wind turbine siting and operation in hilly regions.
Hannah Livingston, Nicola Bodini, and Julie K. Lundquist
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2021-68, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2021-68, 2021
Preprint withdrawn
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In this paper, we assess whether hub-height turbulence can easily be quantified from either other hub-height variables or ground-level measurements in complex terrain. We find a large variability across the three considered locations when trying to model hub-height turbulence intensity and turbulence kinetic energy. Our results highlight the nonlinear and complex nature of atmospheric turbulence, so that more powerful techniques should instead be recommended to model hub-height turbulence.
Miguel Sanchez Gomez, Julie K. Lundquist, Petra M. Klein, and Tyler M. Bell
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3539–3549, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3539-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3539-2021, 2021
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In July 2018, the International Society for Atmospheric Research using Remotely-piloted Aircraft (ISARRA) hosted a flight week to demonstrate unmanned aircraft systems' capabilities in sampling the atmospheric boundary layer. Three Doppler lidars were deployed during this week-long experiment. We use data from these lidars to estimate turbulence dissipation rate. We observe large temporal variability and significant differences in dissipation for lidars with different sampling techniques.
Miguel Sanchez Gomez, Julie K. Lundquist, Jeffrey D. Mirocha, Robert S. Arthur, and Domingo Muñoz-Esparza
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2021-57, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2021-57, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Winds decelerate upstream of a wind plant as turbines obstruct and extract energy from the flow. This effect is known as wind plant blockage. We assess how atmospheric stability modifies the upstream wind plant blockage. We find stronger stability amplifies this effect. We also explore different approaches to quantifying blockage from field-like observations. We find different methodologies may induce errors of the same order of magnitude as the blockage-induced velocity deficits.
Alex Rybchuk, Mike Optis, Julie K. Lundquist, Michael Rossol, and Walt Musial
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2021-50, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2021-50, 2021
Preprint withdrawn
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We characterize the wind resource off the coast of California by conducting simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model between 2000 and 2019. We compare newly simulated winds to those from the WIND Toolkit. The newly simulated winds are substantially stronger, particularly in the late summer. We also conduct a refined analysis at three areas that are being considered for commercial development, finding that stronger winds translates to substantially more power here.
Elizabeth A. Pillar-Little, Brian R. Greene, Francesca M. Lappin, Tyler M. Bell, Antonio R. Segales, Gustavo Britto Hupsel de Azevedo, William Doyle, Sai Teja Kanneganti, Daniel D. Tripp, and Phillip B. Chilson
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 269–280, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-269-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-269-2021, 2021
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During July 2018, researchers from OU participated in the LAPSE-RATE field campaign in San Luis Valley, Colorado. The OU team completed 180 flights using three RPASs over the course of 6 d of operation to collect vertical profiles of the thermodynamic and kinematic state of the ABL. This article describes sampling strategies, data collection, platform intercomparibility, data quality, and the dataset's possible applications to convective initiation, drainage flows, and ABL transitions.
Gijs de Boer, Sean Waugh, Alexander Erwin, Steven Borenstein, Cory Dixon, Wafa'a Shanti, Adam Houston, and Brian Argrow
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 155–169, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-155-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-155-2021, 2021
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This paper provides an overview of measurements collected in south-central Colorado (USA) during the 2018 LAPSE-RATE campaign. The measurements described in this article were collected by mobile surface vehicles, including cars, trucks, and vans, and include measurements of thermodynamic quantities (e.g., temperature, humidity, pressure) and winds. These measurements can be used to study the evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer at a high-elevation site under a variety of conditions.
Caroline Draxl, Rochelle P. Worsnop, Geng Xia, Yelena Pichugina, Duli Chand, Julie K. Lundquist, Justin Sharp, Garrett Wedam, James M. Wilczak, and Larry K. Berg
Wind Energ. Sci., 6, 45–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-45-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-45-2021, 2021
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Mountain waves can create oscillations in low-level wind speeds and subsequently in the power output of wind plants. We document such oscillations by analyzing sodar and lidar observations, nacelle wind speeds, power observations, and Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations. This research describes how mountain waves form in the Columbia River basin and affect wind energy production and their impact on operational forecasting, wind plant layout, and integration of power into the grid.
Jessica M. Tomaszewski and Julie K. Lundquist
Wind Energ. Sci., 6, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-1-2021, 2021
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We use a mesoscale numerical weather prediction model to conduct a case study of a thunderstorm outflow passing over and interacting with a wind farm. These simulations and observations from a nearby radar and surface station confirm that interactions with the wind farm cause the outflow to reduce its speed by over 20 km h−1, with brief but significant impacts on the local meteorology, including temperature, moisture, and winds. Precipitation accumulation across the region was unaffected.
Gijs de Boer, Adam Houston, Jamey Jacob, Phillip B. Chilson, Suzanne W. Smith, Brian Argrow, Dale Lawrence, Jack Elston, David Brus, Osku Kemppinen, Petra Klein, Julie K. Lundquist, Sean Waugh, Sean C. C. Bailey, Amy Frazier, Michael P. Sama, Christopher Crick, David Schmale III, James Pinto, Elizabeth A. Pillar-Little, Victoria Natalie, and Anders Jensen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3357–3366, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3357-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3357-2020, 2020
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This paper provides an overview of the Lower Atmospheric Profiling Studies at Elevation – a Remotely-piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE) field campaign, held from 14 to 20 July 2018. This field campaign spanned a 1-week deployment to Colorado's San Luis Valley, involving over 100 students, scientists, engineers, pilots, and outreach coordinators. This overview paper provides insight into the campaign for a special issue focused on the datasets collected during LAPSE-RATE.
Antonia Englberger, Julie K. Lundquist, and Andreas Dörnbrack
Wind Energ. Sci., 5, 1623–1644, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1623-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1623-2020, 2020
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Wind turbines rotate clockwise. The rotational direction of the rotor interacts with the nighttime veering wind, resulting in a rotational-direction impact on the wake. In the case of counterclockwise-rotating blades the streamwise velocity in the wake is larger in the Northern Hemisphere whereas it is smaller in the Southern Hemisphere.
Antonia Englberger, Andreas Dörnbrack, and Julie K. Lundquist
Wind Energ. Sci., 5, 1359–1374, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1359-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1359-2020, 2020
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At night, the wind direction often changes with height, and this veer affects structures near the surface like wind turbines. Wind turbines usually rotate clockwise, but this rotational direction interacts with veer to impact the flow field behind a wind turbine. If another turbine is located downwind, the direction of the upwind turbine's rotation will affect the downwind turbine.
Nicola Bodini, Julie K. Lundquist, and Mike Optis
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4271–4285, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4271-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4271-2020, 2020
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While turbulence dissipation rate (ε) is an essential parameter for the prediction of wind speed, its current representation in weather prediction models is inaccurate, especially in complex terrain. In this study, we leverage the potential of machine-learning techniques to provide a more accurate representation of turbulence dissipation rate. Our results show a 30 % reduction in the average error compared to the current model representation of ε and a total elimination of its average bias.
Patrick Murphy, Julie K. Lundquist, and Paul Fleming
Wind Energ. Sci., 5, 1169–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1169-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1169-2020, 2020
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We present and evaluate an improved method for predicting wind turbine power production based on measurements of the wind speed and direction profile across the rotor disk for a wind turbine in complex terrain. By comparing predictions to actual power production from a utility-scale wind turbine, we show this method is more accurate than methods based on hub-height wind speed or surface-based atmospheric characterization.
Cited articles
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Short summary
In July 2018, numerous weather sensing remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPASs) were flown in a flight week called Lower Atmospheric Process Studies at Elevation – a Remotely-piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE). As part of LAPSE-RATE, ground-based remote and in situ systems were also deployed to supplement and enhance observations from the RPASs. These instruments include multiple Doppler lidars, thermodynamic profilers, and radiosondes. This paper describes data from these systems.
In July 2018, numerous weather sensing remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPASs) were flown in a...
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