- The new wind atlas can be accessed through: http://www.irena.org/globalatlas

The new wind atlas is made readily available to the public and contains a data level not yet seen before, enabling energy planners to generate precise wind data for specific areas. The atlas will play a pivotal role in the development of future wind model, and can thus contribute to improving the global utilisation of wind power:

“Today Denmark gets 40% of its electricity from wind turbines, and the wind sector is of great importance for both energy security of supply and job creation in Denmark. I am very pleased that Denmark has contributed to the development of the new wind atlas, so other countries also have a strong foundation to utilise wind power. Denmark has previously developed a wind atlas in cooperation with South Africa, which has created a foundation for development of wind power, explains Danish Minister for Energy, Utilities and Climate Lars Chr. Lilleholt.

- Read more about wind power

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is a world-leader in development of wind models, and DTU has also played a central role in the technical development of the new wind atlas.

“A wind turbines power production can be improved significantly if it is placed in the optimal area. With the new wind atlas, we can identify the best areas – even across the entire globe, says Innovation Manager at DTU Wind Energy Kenneth Thomsen.

Demand in developing countries
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global wind atlas has been sought after in many developing countries, which are seeking technical know-how in relation to the development of a renewable energy policy. The atlas may also be used to identify countries where a more nuanced and verified mapping of wind resources may lead to improved utilisation of the wind power. In those areas where wind resources look promising, the next step is to contact the large wind turbine manufacturers, for instance Danish Vestas Wind Systems.

“The global wind atlas is a big win for all nations that wish to explore the possibilities for wind power in their country, and Vestas is of course interested in helping them find the optimal wind power solution to match the specific wind conditions,” says Vice President for Global Public Affairs at Vestas Morten Dyrholm.

Facts about the wind atlas
Denmark is a member of IRENA, which have created the Global Atlas for Renewable Energy. The new global wind atlas will become a part of IRENA Global Atlas together with data from 1,500 databases, which is compared with the geographical information system (GIS) and the software program Global Atlas Pocket. IRENA has involved more than 50 organisations from 67 countries, which all have contributed to the development during the past 4 years.

The data sources and methodology has been described in details to ensure transparency around the methods for the wind power sector. The new wind atlas delivers data right down to 1 kilometers resolution, and builds in data containing an even higher resolution.

- People interested in modeling and depth analyses can access DTU’s Globbal Wind Atlas Server: http://globalwindatlas.com

IRENA’s global wind atlas has been financed by a long list of institutions. The Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) has granted the project DKK 6.95 million and DTU has contributed with DKK 1.25 million.

Source: The Danish Energy Agency (translated from Danish)