After creating an online geospatial map that allows users to easily and accurately map potential renewable energy resources in the US, research supported by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has resulted in a tool that helps companies choose the best sites for wind projects.
The Cadmus Group, in partnership with NREL and Encraft, announced the release of an online tool, the Distributed Wind Site Analysis Tool (DSAT), which allows users to predict the energy output and environmental benefits of wind projects at sites across the US.
Development of the tool began in 2008 with funding from the the Department of Energy's Wind Powering America Program.
Cadmus used a variety of data sources, such as high resolution wind maps, wind tunnel testing, computational fluid dynamics modeling, and real-world wind resource and turbine performance data to predict the performance of distributed wind projects.
The standard version of the tool is free, and a nominal fee is required to access more advanced features.
Here's the tool:
