JustWIND installed a real-time weather monitoring system for its Logan County Wind Farm project this week.

The online weather-information system is one developed and operated by Twin Cities’ weatherman Paul Douglas’ company, WeatherNation. Metzger employed the system in order to provide landowners and investors with a current time tracking system that shows just how strong the wind is at his Logan County North Dakota wind farm.

WeatherNation is a syndicated service with cutting-edge weather content that is broadcast out of Excelsior, Minnesota via a high-speed fiber-optic link. It allows access to “real-time visualization” of the Earth and offers weather forecasting for thousands of cities worldwide including Napoleon, North Dakota home of Just Wind’s Logan County Wind Farm operation. The system incorporates state-of-the-art weather-gathering and forecasting technology to provide frequent weather updates for clients across the country.

JustWIND’s website features a “Current Weather” button on its home page toolbar that users click to see up-to-the-hour weather conditions for Napoleon, North Dakota. The current weather report includes temperature, dew point, relative humidity, wind pressure and, of course, the all important wind speed. Other features shown are a 7-day forecast, radar, satellite, dew point, wind chill, and wind speed maps for the surrounding counties, along with a local video forecast specifically for Napoleon, ND.

According to Metzger, “Weather factors are key to determining the long-term success of wind farm projects. The real-time weather system delivered by WeatherNation allows landowners and other interested parties to monitor the project and to see the wind potential for themselves.”

Citing a study performed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory in 1991*, Metzger says, “North Dakota is ranked number one in wind energy potential.”

The study says, “Germany is currently the world leader in terms of installed wind power with over 20,000 Mega Watts. Yet this is only a fraction of the wind energy potential available in North Dakota.”

Metzger’s Logan County project covers 55,000 acres and comprises 150 turbines.

In a 5-year government sponsored test, conducted by the Napoleon Economic Development Company, the project location averaged 93% wind efficiency. “Our capacity factor is between 43.7% and 48.6% while the industry average is 25-35%. That’s some strong wind and that’s why we’re here,” says Metzger.

JustWIND plans to expand its current weather coverage to include other wind farm projects as they develop. Next in line is neighboring Strasburg, North Dakota home to JustWIND's Emmons County Wind Farm. The approximately 64,000 acre project will feature 400 wind turbines. With its wind regime equal to that in Napoleon—it’s less than 50 miles away—and a 16% larger site with two and half times as many turbines, the Emmons County project is slated to be JustWIND’s largest yet. An estimated 150 landowners have already signed on and construction is proposed to begin in the spring of 2011.

Source:
An Assessment of the Available Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential in the Contiguous United States performed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory in 1991.

 
WeatherNation contact:
Courtney Allar
Director of Operations
952-401-1005
callar@weathernation.net
www.WeatherNation.net