FirstLook Standard Wind Report

Designed for: Landowner & Engineer/Consultant

For pricing and purchase details:

Extensive Wind Prospecting Report

Primary Uses

Utility-scale wind prospecting
Community and utility-scale met tower siting
Portfolio site comparison
Initial project feasibility
Power capacity estimates
Residential and commercial scale site assessment and ROI analysis

Gain confidence in the value of a potential site with an unbiased, third party assessment of both wind and power potential.

Wind and Power Variability

A valuable wind site requires strong winds when the electricity demand or the electricity price is highest. With easily interpreted figures and tables, the FirstLook Standard Wind Report provides the annual, monthly, and diurnal variability information you need to make an informed decision about your location and know when to expect the highest levels of energy generation.

Globally Consistent

Our wind prospecting reports are based on a seamless global dataset, which means you can compare multiple locations and know that the information for each site was calculated using the same exact method and the same proven science. A consistent approach to prospecting gives you a clear picture of the risks for every potential site in your portfolio.

Technical Overview

Figure 1. Annual Wind Rose

FirstLook Wind Annual Average Diurnal Variability Sample

Figure 2. Annual Average Diurnal Variability

FirstLook Wind Annual Average Power Histogram Sample

Figure 3. Annual Average Power Histogram

Product Features

Wind Information

Map of the area surrounding your location
Plot of Monthly Variability (with error bars)
Annual Average Weibull Histogram Plot
Annual Wind Rose
Plot of Annual Average Diurnal Variability (with error bars)

Power Information

Plot of Monthly Power Variability*
Annual Average Power Histogram (power capacity)
Annual Power Rose
Plot of Annual Average Diurnal Variability

Technical Highlights

Global Coverage
Spatial resolution of approximately 5 km
Mesoscale 10-year WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model run
Validated by 4000 NCEP-ADP network stations worldwide
Model constrained by high-quality inputs from the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis

FirstLook Report Comparison

	Standard Report	Professional Report
Map of the surrounding area	X	X
Annual average wind speed (with error bars)	X	X
Monthly average wind speed variability (with error bars)	X	X
Annual average wind speed weibull histogram	X	X
Annual average diurnal wind speed variability (with error bars)	X	X
Monthly average diurnal wind speed variability		X
Annual wind rose	X	X
Monthly wind roses		X
Monthly average power variability*	X	X
Annual average power histogram (power capacity)	X	X
Annual power rose	X	X
Monthly power roses		X
Annual average diurnal power variability	X	X
CSV (Comma-separated value) data file		X

Validation Results

The difference between annual mean wind speed data provided by FirstLook Reports 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 Square Error) is 0.93 m/s. Find our validation papers here.

* Monthly Power Variability estimates are based upon a turbine at a specified hub height. Turbine models used are GE 1.5 SLE, Vestas, and Bergey XL1.

If you are unfamiliar with the technical terminology on this page, please visit our Glossary for more information.