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| Aug. 20, 2007: Wind Data Offers Some SurprisesMedia Clip
Posted August 24th, 2007 by elena
A new study finds that wind potential in South Dakota is stronger than previously thought. Rapid City Journal SIOUX FALLS — Information collected 200 to 300 feet above the ground indicates the wind energy potential in South Dakota has been underestimated, according to Mike Ropp, who’s overseeing the collection of data. South Dakota has long been considered a good site for wind energy production, based on computer modeling and data collected mostly by National Weather Service anemometers, often 30 feet above the ground. But the Wind Resource Assessment Network puts sensors on transmission towers to measure the wind at the heights where turbines would operate. “Wind speed changes at elevation, and in the band we’re looking at — 50 to 90 meters (164-295 feet) — we’re finding the winds tend to be stronger than had been predicted by previous studies and a little more consistent, less gusty,” said Ropp, an associate professor of electrical engineering at South Dakota State University. |
