VERIFICATION OF WIND RESOURCE STUDY OF A SCOTTISH REGION

In a survey of the practical wind energy resource present in the Taysi de Region of Scotland it was estimated that over 1500 km(2) of land is suitable for wind energy development in the Region after consideratio n of a range of physical technical and institutional factors. Wind spe ed data for this survey was obtained from the Energy Technology Suppor t Unit (ETSU) UK Wind Speed Data Package. To verify the wind speeds ob tained from the ETSU package a representative sample of sites in and a round the identified areas of potential in Tayside were modelled for m ean annual wind speed using the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Pr ogram (WA(s)P). The wind speeds for the sites obtained from the WA(s)P analysis were compared with those obtained from the ETSU UK Wind Spee d Data Package and conclusions drawn as to the reliability of the Tays ide wind energy survey and the general applicability of the ETSU packa ge for broad wind energy resource assessment.