Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit

The Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit is an update and expansion of the Eastern Integration Data Set and Western Wind Integration Data Set. It supports the next generation of wind integration studies.

The WIND Toolkit includes meteorological conditions and turbine power for more than 126,000 sites in the continental United States for the years 2007—2013. It features three main data sets:

• The meteorological data set includes basic information on the weather conditions in each 2-km x 2-km grid cell. The meteorological data set also includes parameters such as wind profiles, atmospheric stability, and solar radiation data in those cells. This complete data set is not yet publically available, though some of the data is made available with the power data set.
• A power data set was created using the wind data at 100-meter hub height and site-appropriate turbine power curves to estimate the power produced at each of the turbine sites.
• A forecast data set includes forecasts for 1-hour, 4-hour, 6-hour, and 24-hour forecast horizons.
  

The WIND Toolkit has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Wind and Water Power Technologies Office and was created through the collaborative efforts of NREL and 3TIER.

Data Download Instructions

STEP 1:

• Users first need to go to the Wind Toolkit application and select data for download. Users can launch the data download functionality under the Run Analysis tab at the top of the left navigation. Once the locations, temporal range, and attributes are selected using the draw tool, an email will be sent indicating that the data is ready for download. The instructions below are meant to outline the process of downloading data after receiving this email.

STEP 2:

• Sign Up for a Globus account: https://www.globus.org/SignUp. The email verification link will likely open a new browser window from your inbox and log you into Globus.

STEP 3:

• If verification does not log you in, sign in at https://www.globus.org/.

STEP 4:

• Go to Transfer Files.

STEP 5:

• Set up a Globus Connect Personal Endpoint.

NOTE:

• You will need to download and install software to proceed.

STEP 6:

• You need to create the endpoint.
• Copy the Setup Key.
• Select your operating system type.
• Go into your Applications/Programs folder, and open Globus Connect to get the setup prompt.
• Paste the Setup Key when prompted.

NOTES:

• If you experience server error when connecting to Generate Setup Key and completing installation, it is likely due to a local firewall restriction. Please contact your IT support and ask to use an open line.

STEP 7:

• Once Globus Connect Personal is running on your computer, return to the Globus website Transfer Files screen.
• On the left, enter "nrelgds#wtk_downloads" for the endpoint, and click Go.

STEP 8:

• On the right, use the drop-down to search for the personal endpoint that you set up in Step 4 and click Go.

STEP 9:

• Select the files you want on the left. You can test your connection by downloading a small file called "test.txt".
• Select a directory on your local computer on the right.
• Click the large blue button at the top of the screen to transfer files to your personal endpoint.

Validation Code

Users of the WIND Toolkit need to know if the information presented is accurate and that errors are known so corrective steps can be taken; therefore, a validation code written in R is provided to allow users to validate data at their own locations. Validation is based on statistical analyses of wind speed using error metrics such as bias, root mean squared error, centered root mean squared error, mean absolute error, and percent error. Additionally, plots of diurnal cycles, annual cycles, wind roses, histograms of wind speed, and quantile-quantile plots are created to visualize how well observational data compare to model data. Ideally, validation will confirm beneficial locations to utilize wind energy and encourage regional wind integration studies using the WIND Toolkit.

Download the validation code files:

R-script

Example Data

Functions

For more information, see the report A Guide to Using the WIND Toolkit Validation Code.

Citing the Data

Users of the WIND Toolkit should use the appropriate citations as follows.

Draxl, C., B.M. Hodge, A. Clifton, and J. McCaa. 2015. Overview and Meteorological Validation of the Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit (Technical Report, NREL/TP-5000-61740). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Draxl, C., B.M. Hodge, A. Clifton, and J. McCaa. 2015. "The Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit." Applied Energy 151: 355–366.

Lieberman-Cribbin, W., C. Draxl, and A. Clifton. 2014. Guide to Using the WIND Toolkit Validation Code (Technical Report, NREL/TP-5000-62595). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

King, J., A. Clifton, and B.M. Hodge. 2014. Validation of Power Output for the WIND Toolkit (Technical Report, NREL/TP-5D00-61714). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Contact

Andrew Clifton

GROUP MANAGER

andrew.clifton@nrel.gov
303-384-3760

Note: To obtain WIND Toolkit data that are outside the coverage of the API and Wind Prospector, please use the special request form.