Updated state wind energy resource maps have been produced during the last five years in response to increasing demand for wind energy resource information. Because of dependence of the available wind energy at a particular location on the cube of the wind speed, it is extremely important that the underlying wind resource mapping technique be made as accurate as possible in order to produce the most realistic assessment of the wind resource. Many of the updated state wind maps have been generated and validated under a unique governmental-private industry partnership. TrueWind Solutions (TWS), a private company in Albany, New York, begins this process by generating a preliminary wind resource map using its proprietary MesoMap system. The MesoMap system uses output from a mesoscale weather model, refined by a mass-conserving wind flow model to develop high horizontal resolution (now at 200 m) estimates of the wind resource for the study area. The preliminary maps then undergo the validation process led by the wind resource group at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with the aid of experienced wind energy meteorological consultants. The validation results are then reviewed by NREL and TWS, with adjustments made to the preliminary maps for production of the final wind map agreed to by both parties.

This mapping and validation process has identified several technical areas that can be the focus for research to improve the accuracy of mesoscale and microscale models used for wind resource mapping. These areas include boundary layer stability and mixing of momentum, surface roughness, and low-level circulations including jets. The paper will discuss how these factors affected the initial wind resource estimates of the mesoscale model, and how the model has been changed to overcome shortcomings diagnosed during the first few mapping and validation projects, and improve the resource estimates. Finally, planned and possible future research areas will be noted. We believe that these technical areas are germane to any mesoscale model used as the basis for wind resource mapping and that the modeling community can benefit from the lessons learned from the recent wind mapping and validation process.