Data Availability Impacts Uncertainty of Long-Term Corrected Wind Surprisingly Little
According to common guidelines for the evaluation of site-specific wind conditions, a measurement campaign should have at least 90% data availability during a consecutive 12-month period in order to be complete. However, obtaining this high data availability with a Doppler lidar can be a challenge in locations with small amounts of atmospheric aerosols, for example in the Nordic countries or mountainous regions. Regardless of the lower data availability, the data measured in these locations can still hold valuable information that can be used to reduce uncertainties in a wind resource assessment. Therefore, we suggest that instead of discarding data with less than 90% data availability, the uncertainties due to the lower lidar data availability should be quantified and considered in the wind resource assessment. This is in line with the upcoming IEC framework for the assessment and reporting of the wind resource and energy yield.
By Pyry Pentikäinen, Adviser, Kjeller Vindteknikk, Finland
