AN EVALUATION STUDY OF THE WRF PARAMETRIZATIONS FOR WIND RESOURCE IN ANDALUSIA

摘要

We present an evaluation study of the relative performance of 16 different configurations of WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model in simulating hourly values of wind speed and direction at several locations (including offshore) in Andalusia (Southern Iberian Peninsula). The study area is located in a transition zone from middle latitudes to subtropical climates, with the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean region in the southern bound. The region has a high complex topography. This allows to properly evaluate the different parametrizations of the WRF model. Similar works can be found in Ruiz-Arias et al. (2009) and Borge et at. (2008). The experiments were carried out for the different seasons of the year 2007, with a set of three-day-length integrations for spring and summer, and a set of ten-day-length integrations for winter and autumn; with a spatial resolution of 3 km. Results were tested against ground data measured in 6 meteorological towers at different altitudes above the ground. Offshore estimations were evaluated in three locations using buoy data. Results were analyzed on the light of the different topographic characteristics of the validating stations. Overall, the WRF model showed to be a reliable tool for wind energy resources evaluation in the study region. The topographic characteristics of the evaluation locations showed also to play an important role. Particularly, stations located in the eastern part of the study area (with a high complex topography) presented considerable higher estimation errors.