StormMata / WindEnergyProjections

Code for 1.001 Final Project

WindEnergyProjections

At a high level, this project contains two separate pursuits:

1. collection and processing of geospatial data, including assimilating data from different sources into a single structure
2. application of the above information to simulate the progression and expansion of wind energy in the US based on historical trends and future predictions from industry and government sources accounting for uncertainty in this information

The data for this project were collected from the following sources:

1. Geospatial agricultural development data: United States Department of Agriculture CroplandCROS App¹
2. Geospatial water body data: Ibid¹
3. Geospatial urban development data: Ibid¹ and US Census Bureau via Data.Gov²
4. Geospatial elevation data: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan via Global Mapping Project (https://globalmaps.github.io)³
5. Geospatial forest cover data: Ibid⁴
6. Geospatial wind speed map: NREL Wind Prospector⁵
7. Current wind farm location coordinates: Ibid⁶
8. Historical trends and future predictions in wind turbine technology advancements: United States Department of Energy^7-9

Requirements to Run

Data: Download the data from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zZARRv8IZAjOBQrMyWTTU6ABGsUOqtO2/view?usp=sharing

All necessary data are contained in the zip file called "TiffData.zip". The unzipped data are 13.5 GB in size.

This program is composed entirely of Matlab .m files. The only requirement for running the program is a working copy of Matlab.

As is typical with Matlab, all data and functions should be in Matlab's path. In order to ensure this, addpath('...') can be added to line 15 of Main.m to update Matlab on the location of the required files.

Instructions to Run

1. Download data from the link above
2. Download .m files
3. open Main.m and run. The separate functions will automatically, load, process, and plot the tiff data. PowerCalcs.m will then run the wind energy simulations.

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Citations

¹ CroplandCROS [beta], National Agricultural Statistical Service. [Online]. Available: https://cropcros.azurewebsites.net Note: Data were too large to be downloaded together. In total, 31 separate files were generated from the CroplandCROS App. Agricultural, water, and city data are all included in the same tiff files.

² TIGER/Line Shapefile, 2019, nation, U.S., Current Metropolitan Statistical Area/Micropolitan Statistical Area (CBSA) National, United States Census Bureau, Oct. 2021. [online]. Available: https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/tiger-line-shapefile-2019-nation-u-s-current-metropolitan-statistical-area-micropolitan-statist

³ Elevation - Global version - Version 2, Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, Feb. 2017. [online]. Available: https://github.com/globalmaps/gm_el_v2_west

⁴ Vegetation (Percent Tree Cover) - Global version - Version 2, Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, Feb. 2017. [online]. Available: https://github.com/globalmaps/gm_ve_v2

⁵ 110-Meter Hub Height (Current Technology), National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [online]. Available: https://maps.nrel.gov/wind-prospector

⁶ Wind Farm Sites, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [online]. Available: https://maps.nrel.gov/wind-prospector

⁷ United States Department of Energy, “Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States,” DOE/GO-102015-4557, Apr. 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/WindVision_Report_final.pdf

⁸ United States Department of Energy, “Land-Based Wind Market Report,” DOE/GO-102021-5611, Aug. 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-08/Land-Based%20Wind%20Market%20Report%202021%20Edition_Full%20Report_FINAL.pdf

⁹ United States Department of Energy. "Map: Projected Growth of the Wind Industry From Now Until 2050." Energy.Gov. https://www.energy.gov/maps/map-projected-growth-wind-industry-now-until-2050 (accessed Apr. 2, 2022).