Will U.S. Become the Saudi Arabia of Wind Power?

A new venture called 3Tier Group in Seattle has a goal of no less than “Remapping the World” for alternative energy. T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire Texas oilman, is such a big fan, he used 3Tier’s maps to draw a bold conclusion-that the United States has the potential to be “the Saudi Arabia of Wind.”

3Tier crunches huge amounts of climate data into its computers, and analyzes it in models to come up with an accurate forecast of what kind of power a particular wind farm is going to produce over time. It can also take measurements at a site over a year’s time, and crunch numbers that may spot a better site a few miles away from one the developer originally scoped out, says Kenneth Westrick, the founder and CEO, an atmospheric scientist .

“The greatest risk is in the availability of fuel,” Westrick says. “We can create a map of where the wind blows. We can ask where is it abundant? Will it be abundant when we need it?” He added later, “Only a couple of companies can do this.”

Wind patterns follow trends. Some trends last for days, or weeks, while others run into years and even decades. These trends overlap and interact to form some of the most complex datasets known to man. The same basic principle applies to solar and even tidal energy. All critical data for the energy companies that are investing billions of dollars world-wide on renewable energy infrastructure, such as wind farms, solar plants and tidal turbines.

Westrick points out that the models are so accurate that they can analyze a wind farm's power output over time and suggest a better site a short distance away to optimize output. The models are used to create powerful maps that indicate where wind and solar power are optimal and abundant, but they are also predictive in nature so they can indicate if renewable sources of energy will be optimal in a particular location for years into the future.

3 Tier's predictive nature that has sparked the interest of companies such as GE, Horizon Wind Energy, Iberdrola Spain and Seattle City Light at a time when many businesses are going into recession. 3Tier, like many involved in the renewable energy sector, have seen consistent growth.

Posted by Jason McManus.

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[Saudi]

We in Saudi Arabia are housed between two vast energy sources;Oil bellow and sun power on top, Saudi Arabia is the sunniest country in the world, we also wend of course, we live in an energy house but we are still in bed sleeping and not awakened to make use of and enjoy it all in full.