Analysis of Wind Power Assessment Based on the WRF Model

Assessing wind energy is a key step in selecting a site for a wind farm. The accuracy of the assessment is essential for the future operation of the wind farm. There are two main methods for assessing wind power: one is based on observational data and the other relies on mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP). In this study, the wind power of the Liaoning coastal wind farm was evaluated using observations from an anemometer tower and simulations by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, to see whether the WRF model can produce a valid assessment of the wind power and whether the downscaling process can provide a better evaluation. The paper presents long-term wind data analysis in terms of annual, seasonal, and diurnal variations at the wind farm, which is located on the east coast of Liaoning Province. The results showed that, in spring and summer, the wind speed, wind direction, wind power density, and other main indicators were consistent between the two methods. However, the values of these parameters from the WRF model were significantly higher than the observations from the anemometer tower. Therefore, the causes of the differences between the two methods were further analyzed. There was much more deviation in the original material, National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) final (FNL) Operational Global Analysis data, in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. As the region is vulnerable to cold-air outbreaks and windy weather in autumn and winter, and the model usually forecasted stronger high or low systems with a longer duration, the predicted wind speed from the WRF model was too large.