AWS Truewind, LLC, announced today that it has completed high-resolution wind resource maps and GIS data sets for Canada and the Great Lakes. The maps and GIS data sets are available exclusively through its interactive prospecting and resource analysis application, windNavigator^®.

“Developers, financiers, government planners, and other interested parties use windNavigator to locate and confirm promising sites for wind development with a high level of confidence,” said Bruce Bailey, President and CEO of AWS Truewind, an international leader in renewable energy consulting. “Once an attractive site is located, windNavigator customers use high-resolution GIS data to conduct further analyses on their project sites. With the release of Canada and the Great Lakes, windNavigator offers a customizable solution for anyone interested in developing wind farms in North America both on land and offshore,” adds Bailey.

The 200-meter grid cell resolution maps were completed using AWS Truewind’s proprietary MesoMap^® system, one of the most advanced wind mapping systems in use today. High-resolution wind resource maps are extremely valuable in assessing wind development potential for large areas, particularly when traditional measurements are scarce. AWS Truewind developed a database of over 1400 wind-monitoring stations for its North America data set resulting in map values that have been determined objectively to be within 0.35 m/s of the true speed at over 68% of points.

“The level of accuracy we achieve with our MesoMap system and deliver through windNavigator gives our clients a competitive advantage,” says Jim Adams, Vice President of Business Development. “Relying on coarser resolution data means taking on unnecessary risk, in the current economic times it is critical to use the best data available, even in the early stages of development,” adds Adams.

The windNavigator GIS data toolkit is interactive and customizable. The standard GIS data set includes wind speed layers at 60, 80 and 100 meters, a gross capacity factor layer at 80 meters based on a generic megawatt-class turbine and high-resolution DEM (digital elevation model) and land cover data.

Key features of windNavigator include:

• Convenience: Online access available anytime, anywhere; all the user needs is an internet connection.
• Accuracy: Objectively determined standard error margin of 0.35 m/s for the mean speed at 80 m for North America.
• Reliability: Wind resource data from MesoMap, the most widely tested and validated wind mapping system in use today.
• Detail: High-resolution wind information at a refined grid scale of 200 m, plus multiple heights above ground.  Terrain and demographic data available, too.
• Customization: Project-scale maps provide a clear picture of the wind resource and its spatial variability over an area of the user’s choosing and GIS data supports further wind resource analysis.

To experience the power of windNavigator, click here.