April 22, 2002—With support from the US Department of Energy, Northwest SEED has produced a series of maps that detail the wind resources of five Northwestern states as well as portions of California, Nevada, and Utah. The maps can be used by government planners, energy service companies, and private developers to determine wind energy development potential in a given location, the best areas for such development, related economic development opportunities, barriers and sensitivities, and costs.
In short, this wind mapping initiative is designed to facilitate future wind energy planning and siting decisions—as well as technology transfer activities—by utilizing state-of-the-art modeling techniques.
The maps display power and wind speed at heights of 50 meters, as well as wind speed at heights of 30 meters. They also include an interactive tool for zooming in on specific locations.
For more information, see the Wind Power Maps Web site.
