IEC provided wind data acquisition and analysis, wind plant conceptual design, balance of plant conceptual design, and wind plant cost estimating for various proposed wind projects in California. For the wind data acquisition and analysis, IEC obtained information about the potential sites, including wind data, coordinates, location of existing facilities (buildings, transmission lines, etc.), topology (ridgelines, treelines, etc.), and similar features in the general vicinity. Our experts then scrubbed (removed poor quality data) and analyzed this data to determine:

• The change in wind speed with height – termed the wind shear;
• The diurnal characteristics of the wind which help define the time-of-day energy deliveries of a wind turbine;
• The joint frequency of wind speed and wind direction which assist in the engineering design of the wind turbine array; and
• The wind turbulence at the site.

Based on the results of the above data and analyses, we analyzed the wind data in relation to wind power curves and other specifications for one of the most applicable wind turbine generator models currently available in the market. A preliminary siting for the turbine model was also performed, taking into account topological features and other constraints, to develop a total number of wind turbines and generating capacity expected. The annual capacity factor for the potential wind plant based on the wind turbine model was then estimated.

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