Primary Uses
- Utility-scale prospecting
- Site assessment
- Transmission planning
With annual and monthly 3TIER Wind Speed GIS Data Layers, you have access to the most advanced global wind dataset ever created. Our scientifically derived data layers integrate spatial wind resource data directly into your own GIS mapping software for in-depth analysis, including site prospecting, sorting, and optimal selection.
By layering 3TIER Wind GIS Layers with each other you can get a complete sense of your resource potential. You can also use third-party layers, such as land ownership, population density, soil type, topography, and transmission and transportation infrastructure, to factor in many of the variables that affect the viability of a site. This enables you to identify promising locations more quickly, as well as understand potentially fatal flaws at a proposed site early in the prospecting process.
Our seamless global wind dataset allows you to compare multiple sites with confidence, so you have a clearer picture of the risks involved for every potential site in your portfolio. A coarse, 5 km resolution dataset has been derived for wide-scope prospecting. Higher resolution custom datasets, as fine as 90 meters, can be used for project-specific analysis. All datasets are derived from proven techniques, state-of-the-art numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, and publicly available observational data.
Data available for both annual and monthly values of wind speed and at multiple hub heights: 10, 20, 50, 80, 100, and 140 meters above ground.
To produce the global wind dataset, 3TIER implemented an innovative physics-based NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) modeling approach. Unlike traditional models that merely interpolate observed wind speeds between widely dispersed points, 3TIER's system simulates 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 and continually enhanced by the global atmospheric science and research community, 3TIER is able to create realistic wind fields throughout the world.
Find our validation papers here.
If you are unfamiliar with the technical terminology on this page, please visit our Glossary for more information.
