Description:
There is a wide range of uncertainties in general circulation and regional climate models that make them unsuitable for direct use in the design and planning of wind-energy systems. In addition, the global climate model output resolution is much too coarse for use by wind energy planners. Modeling tools that are capable of converting the output of global models to local scales and enable better understanding of the interaction between wind farms and regional climate are invited as part of this grant application request. Model output can also be used in conjunction with observations to enable a better characterization of the interaction between wind plants and local-regional-global climate. Applications that can identify and reduce the largest sources of uncertainty to enable an efficient use of future wind predictions are invited. An assessment of the nature and likelihood of extreme wind events in the current and future climate should help protect national investments in wind energy resources. To summarize, the effect of climatology, climate change, and extremes on wind farms and-or the effect of wind farms on regional climate is an important part of this solicitation.
