Wind Energy Resource Assessment Using Wind Atlas and Meteorological Data for the City of Guelph, Canada

Abstract The ability to accurately assess renewable energy resources is an essential prerequisite to integrating renewable energy technologies into the energy supply portfolio of a community. This study investigates the potential for wind energy development in Guelph, a growing mid-size city in Southern Ontario, Canada. Community awareness of energy has led to the development of a Community Energy Plan that includes discussion on the utilization of energy supplied from renewable sources. Wind resources are particularly difficult to evaluate at the community level. A preliminary evaluation of the City of Guelph’s wind energy resource was undertaken to determine the degree to which locally-produced wind energy could supply the city’s current and future energy demand. Wind data for Guelph and the nearby village of Elora was sourced from two wind maps (Environment Canada’s Canadian Wind Energy Atlas and the Wind Resource Atlas published by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources), as well as the weather stations at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute and the Elora Research Station. These different data sources produced wind energy estimates all within ±44% of each other for a small wind turbine (10 kW). Community scale generation was estimated through a uniform grid of turbines across the city. Nearly 18,000 small wind turbines generate 139 GWh while 128 utility-scale turbines generate 424 GWh. These utility-scale turbines could potentially deliver 24% of Guelph’s 2005 electrical demand.