The Wind Power program at INL supports Wind Powering America (WPA), a U.S. Department of Energy program that is committed to dramatically increasing the use of wind energy in the United States. This initiative is designed to help establish new sources of income for American farmers, Native Americans, and other rural landowners, and meet the growing demand for clean sources of electricity.
Through WPA, the United States will achieve targeted regional economic development, enhance our power generation options, protect the local environment, and increase our energy and national security. There are many facets to the WPA program. These include the anemometer loan program, which is one of the primary factors in the development of this website. Under this program, wind anemometers from WPA are loaned to various entities for installation at promising wind sites. The anemometers remain in place for at least a year, and the wind data is collected and analyzed for each site to help determine if it is feasible and cost effective to install a wind turbine or turbines at that site.
Wind data is available on this web site for wind sites in Idaho, Utah, and Vandenberg Air Force Base. Wind data analysis software is also available for download. Directions for use of the software are included in the download folder.