Forty percent of the world’s land mass has wind speeds at more than 6 m per second, according to Seattle-based 3Tier, which has unveiled a global wind map – a project dubbed REmapping the World – which can be viewed for free on the Internet.
Even though some of that 40 percent of land is not accessible for commercial development, the potential for future renewable projects is quite large, the company says. Currently, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the global land mass has been developed for large-scale wind projects.
The map provides global wind data at an 80 m height over a 15 km area for a single year.
“Communities in developing countries finally will have – at little or no cost – the information to help them decide whether renewable energy can power their communities,” said Kenneth Westrick, 3Tier CEO and founder. “These maps will help leaders and developers throughout the world assess their renewable energy potential and make important policy and
economic decisions as a result.”