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LLLJP Lidars

Why lidars? Lidar measurements of the wind flow obtained with high temporal and spatial resolution up to several hundred meters above the surface can provide information to:

  • Estimate wind-resource and improve the accuracy of turbine output predictions
  • Investigate wind-speed and turbulence conditions within the atmospheric layer occupied by turbine rotors.
  • Study nighttime behavior and evolution of the low-level jet (LLJ), a major source of wind power in the Great Plains
  • Investigate complex terrain effects - speedup of flow over hills; channeling by valleys, canyons, and gaps
  • Understand and estimate wake effects by scanning wind field behind the turbine at a downstream distance of 2D
  • Improve representation of wind and turbulence processes in NWP models