3TIER on June 17 encouraged a cautionary response to a recent study claiming US wind speeds have slowed dramatically due to the effects of climate change, pointing out that many factors need to be understood before this conclusion can be validated.
Studies like this contribute to our understanding the effects of climate change and its impact on wind energy resources, but this and previous studies have highlighted unresolved discrepancies between observation-based and model-based estimates of wind speed trends. Given these discrepancies, it is premature to draw any conclusions on what the practical impact of climate change will be on the potential of wind energy in the USA. 3TIER realizes the study is preliminary and would only like to add to the dialogue by offering a position paper in response. Based on 3TIER’s own computer modeling and climate variability studies, the position paper adds another perspective to the discussion.
