It's All in the Height
A wind developer getting permission to erect towers to measure wind speeds is almost too routine to mention. But this one is a little different.
TradeWind Energy has received approval from local authorities to erect a 100-meter tall meteorological (met) tower in Pleasant Township, Ind. This would be the fourth such tower erected by the wind energy developer at project sites under development in the Midwest.
This is particularly interesting due to recent analysis of domestic wind resources that significantly increased U.S. wind potential through the use of higher met towers that more accurately measure wind speeds at hub height. Utility scale turbine towers are typically 300 feet tall.
TradeWind's Director of Meteorology Kevin Walter said use of 100-meter tall met towers is rare, and even 80-meter towers aren't used all that often. "Most developers use 60-meter tall met towers with a sprinkling of 80-meter towers," he said.
Because of their height, the 100-meter tall met towers require Federal Aviation Administration permits.
TradeWind Energy currently has 100-meter tall met towers operating at its Gratiot Farms project in Michigan, Shuteye Creek site in Missouri, and Clinton Farms project in Indiana. The met tower approved for Pleasant Township, Ind., would capture data at the site planned for the LaCrosse Wind Farm, which straddles the southeast corner of LaPorte and Porter counties.
TradeWind Energy CEO Rob Freeman added, "Long before the turbines are constructed, we know what the project's wind energy resources are at turbine hub height and, in the case of the 100-meter met towers, they will better support the potential for taller wind turbines in the future in lower quality wind resource areas."
TradeWind Energy currently has 120 met towers installed at more than 30 wind project development sites from Michigan to Texas. The towers are a mix of 100, 80 and 60 meters tall. TradeWind, based in Lenexa, Kan., currently has approximately 8,000 megawatts in its portfolio.
With the recent report issued by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, perhaps we may see more measurements at hub height.
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