3TIER Annual Mean Wind Speed GIS Data

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With over 9 years experience, 3TIER is a global leader in renewable energy information services. 3TIER’s Wind Speed GIS Data Layers provide invaluable data to explore wind resource potential throughout North America and identify the best locations for wind power development and transmission infrastructure. Only 3TIER uses the latest mesoscale NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) methodologies, based on a full 10 year simulation, to provide 5 km resolution data layers at multiple above ground heights.

Using the latest science, 3TIER Wind Speed GIS Data Layers are based on the application of an advanced 10-year NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) model, known as WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting), which is a proven technology supported and continually enhanced by the global atmospheric science and research community. The result is a consistent 5 km map and dataset, offering reliable wind speed values and enabling more accurate point-to-point comparisons.

Technical Highlights:

• Spatial resolution of approximately 5 km.
• Based on a mesoscale 10-year WRF model run.
• Model constrained by high-quality inputs from the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis, which incorporates real observational data.
• Validated using data from the NCEP-ADP network.
• Validation Results: The difference between annual mean wind speed data provided by 3TIER GIS Data Layers and actual on-site measurements from NCAR/NCEP reanalysis is less than 0.5 m/s at 50% of the observational stations and less than 1 m/s at 78% of the stations.
• The overall bias is +0.05 m/s relative to NCEP-ADP observations, and the RMSE (Root Mean Squared Error) is 0.93 m/s.

Methodology Overview:
3TIER’s GIS Data Layers are extracted from the most comprehensive and geographically complete wind dataset available. To produce a global wind dataset, 3TIER implemented an innovative physical-statistical modeling approach. Unlike traditional models that merely interpolate observed wind speeds between widely dispersed points, 3TIER's system integrates statistical methods with the power of physics-based NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) models, which simulate the interaction between the atmosphere and the earth's surface, to create a more robust and accurate wind climatology.

3TIER's technique captures the myriad processes responsible for wind—from jet level dynamics to surface level processes and everything in between. Using proven, state-of-the-art methods supported by a large scientific and research community, 3TIER is able to create realistic wind fields throughout the world, with the results especially enlightening in regions where observations are not available.

3TIER constrains its mesoscale (WRF) atmospheric simulations using inputs taken from a consistent, high-quality NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) dataset (the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis) that incorporates observational data using data assimilation techniques. 3TIER uses this dataset to drive a combination of a 10-year, coarser resolution (15 km) set of WRF simulations with a 365-day, finer resolution (5 km) set of WRF simulations.