Science Centres: Energy
Tackling wind variability
Rapid assessment of potential wind energy sites
NIWA helps Auckland's big clean up
NIWA greenhouse gas research: a tribute to the late Dave Keeling
Rapid assessment of potential wind energy sites
New Zealand’s variable terrain and climate mean it’s almost always necessary to combine existing data with specific measurements at a potential wind farm site.
In addition to conventional meteorological instruments, NIWA has built a transportable Doppler Acoustic Sounder unit, known as a SODAR (‘sonic detection and ranging’). The SODAR produces high-resolution vertical profiles of wind speed and direction.
NIWA helps Auckland's big clean up
Last month, NIWA measured the exhaust emissions of about 50 000 cars in Auckland, as part of the regional council’s ‘Big Clean Up’ campaign.
When a car drives past our gear, an electronic sign tells the drivers whether their emissions are ‘good’, ‘fair’, or ‘poor’. Vehicles rating ‘poor’ were in the highest polluting 10% of the Auckland fleet, and the ARC has been writing to owners, encouraging them to tune their car.
NIWA greenhouse gas research: a tribute to the late Dave Keeling
The American climate scientist whose precise measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) helped alert the world to the greenhouse effect died last month. Charles David Keeling was 77.
Tackling wind variability
One of the most critical issues for energy generation is reliability of supply. Rainfall, and hydropower generation, has a marked seasonality in New Zealand, which is overcome somewhat if water can be stored in lakes or reservoirs. The strength and consistency of wind can also be seasonal and often the highest wind speeds occur when rainfall and stream flows are lowest.
Such happy symmetry suggests some parts of the country are well suited to a mixture of wind and hydro generation.
But the wind also blows more on some days than on others.
