Wind ENergy Data & Information (WENDI) Gateway
Encyclopedia
The Wind ENergy Data & Information (WENDI) Gateway was launched by the Environmental Sciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory
in March 2010 to support the United States Department of Energy
's Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program. Because the wind energy industry is developing at a rapid pace, researchers may spend more time locating and accessing wind energy-related data than actually analyzing it. The WENDI Gateway thus takes a standards-based, virtual repository
approach to provide users with an easier way to discover, access, and download such data. As a virtual data repository, the WENDI Gateway provides access to wind energy-related data and information from a wide spectrum of sources—including data centers, scientific and technical journals, and geographic information system
s (GIS), as well as the websites of government agencies, corporations, trade organizations, and more.
Wind energy-related data layers include the location of U.S. wind energy power plants; the NREL Wind Power Classification map; state-by-state Renewable Portfolio Standards, and installed wind capacity by state. Transmission & Infrastructure layers include the location of Transmission Lines (as shown by a 1993 report by FEMA, NEXRAD
RADAR sites, location of airports, location of railroads, and an open street map. Geopolitical layers can be used to view 110th Congressional Districts of the US, country boundary, US states, US counties, and the population of US counties.
The Hydrology layer allows the user to view the US river network. Land Ownership, Designation & Usage layers illustrate the boundaries of federal lands and Indian lands, as well as the renewable energy generation potential on Environmental Protection Agency
tracked sites according to the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Center for Program Analysis (OCPA). Users can activate the Elevation or Land Cover layers to view related information.
The Ecosystem & Climate layers can be activated to display the following:
Users can also view the ranges of five bat species of concern. Bats have been killed by wind turbines because the spinning blades cause a drop in air pressure. This reduction in air pressure results in barotrauma
in the bats.
Finally, the Soils layer illustrates FAO soil classification
s across the country.
The WENDI Gateway has been designed to provide data and information regarding such considerations and thereby serve the needs of an array of wind energy stakeholders. Such stakeholders likely include:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
in March 2010 to support the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
's Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program. Because the wind energy industry is developing at a rapid pace, researchers may spend more time locating and accessing wind energy-related data than actually analyzing it. The WENDI Gateway thus takes a standards-based, virtual repository
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
approach to provide users with an easier way to discover, access, and download such data. As a virtual data repository, the WENDI Gateway provides access to wind energy-related data and information from a wide spectrum of sources—including data centers, scientific and technical journals, and geographic information system
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
s (GIS), as well as the websites of government agencies, corporations, trade organizations, and more.
Components
Currently, the WENDI Gateway comprises two main components: the Wind Energy Metadata Clearinghouse and the Wind Energy WebGIS Application. The WENDI Gateway now also provides pages about the basics of how wind energy works, lists of major turbine manufacturers, a list of renewable resource educational programs, and a page about wind energy's effects on wildlife.Wind Energy Metadata Clearinghouse
The Wind Energy Metadata Clearinghouse already includes thousands of metadata records related to wind energy, and is continually growing. These metadata records provide users with easy access to data and information from a variety of resources, such as peer-reviewed journal articles, government agency reports, private industry reports, GIS services, datasets, and news articles. Users can search the Clearinghouse's metadata records by a simple keyword search or narrow their results using more specific filters, including publication date and geographic area. Researchers can then search and scan these metadata records to grasp the vital information—title, author, abstract, and other bibliographic elements—about each resource, quickly assessing its potential usefulness for their work. In many metadata records, a URL to the resource itself is provided, such that those potentially useful resources may be readily viewed in their entirety.Wind Energy GIS
The Wind Energy GIS allows users to view wind energy-related spatial data with a standard web browser. The Wind Energy GIS currently features 10 categories of data layers: Background; Wind Energy-Related; Transmission & Infrastructure; Geopolitical; Hydrology; Land Ownership, Designation & Usage; Elevation; Land Cover; Ecosystem & Climate; and Soils.Layers
The user may select from five options for the Wind Energy GIS background:- TerraserverTerraServerTerraserver refers to one of two databases for viewing geospatial imagery:* Terraserver.com, a commercial web site operated by TerraServer.com, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina....
-USGS topographic map - TerraserverTerraServerTerraserver refers to one of two databases for viewing geospatial imagery:* Terraserver.com, a commercial web site operated by TerraServer.com, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina....
Digital Ortho-Quadrangle - JPL Landsat Global Mosaic
- TerraserverTerraServerTerraserver refers to one of two databases for viewing geospatial imagery:* Terraserver.com, a commercial web site operated by TerraServer.com, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina....
Urban Areas - Bing Maps Virtual Earth
Wind energy-related data layers include the location of U.S. wind energy power plants; the NREL Wind Power Classification map; state-by-state Renewable Portfolio Standards, and installed wind capacity by state. Transmission & Infrastructure layers include the location of Transmission Lines (as shown by a 1993 report by FEMA, NEXRAD
NEXRAD
NEXRAD or Nexrad is a network of 159 high-resolution Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the United States Department of Commerce...
RADAR sites, location of airports, location of railroads, and an open street map. Geopolitical layers can be used to view 110th Congressional Districts of the US, country boundary, US states, US counties, and the population of US counties.
The Hydrology layer allows the user to view the US river network. Land Ownership, Designation & Usage layers illustrate the boundaries of federal lands and Indian lands, as well as the renewable energy generation potential on Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
tracked sites according to the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Center for Program Analysis (OCPA). Users can activate the Elevation or Land Cover layers to view related information.
The Ecosystem & Climate layers can be activated to display the following:
- Average Annual Precipitation (1961–1990)
- Tornadoes (1950–2004)
- Major Landfalling Atlantic Hurricanes
- Ecoregions of North America
- Bailey EcoregionEcoregionAn ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
- Köppen climate classificationKöppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Users can also view the ranges of five bat species of concern. Bats have been killed by wind turbines because the spinning blades cause a drop in air pressure. This reduction in air pressure results in barotrauma
Barotrauma
Barotrauma is physical damage to body tissues caused by a difference in pressure between an air space inside or beside the body and the surrounding fluid...
in the bats.
Finally, the Soils layer illustrates FAO soil classification
FAO soil classification
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations developed a supra-national classification, also called World Soil Classification, which offers useful generalizations about soils pedogenesis in relation to the interactions with the main soil-forming factors. It was first published in...
s across the country.
Target Audience
Many factors must be considered before the construction of a wind energy facility. Among the most important factors to consider are the potential site's wind resource; access to existing transmission lines; access to a reliable power purchaser or market; and population density around the site. Numerous other economic, geographic, environmental, and political considerations must be taken into account as well.The WENDI Gateway has been designed to provide data and information regarding such considerations and thereby serve the needs of an array of wind energy stakeholders. Such stakeholders likely include:
- Wind farmWind farmA wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
developers and constructors - Public utilities commissionPublic Utilities CommissionA Utilities commission, Utility Regulatory Commission , Public Utilities Commission or Public Service Commission is a governing body that regulates the rates and services of a public utility...
s - Electric companies
- Policymakers
- Environmental scientists
- Wind energy modelers/forecastersWind power forecastingA wind power forecast corresponds to an estimate of the expected production of one or more wind turbines in the near future. By production is often meant available power for wind farm considered...
- Academia
- Students and educators
External links
- windenergy.ornl.gov Enter the WENDI Gateway
- WENDI's Twitter
- WENDI's Facebook Page