Influence of Surface Complexity and Atmospheric Stability on Wind Shear and Turbulence in a Peri-Urban Wind Energy Site

Wei Zhang; Elliott Walker; Corey D. Markfort

doi:10.3390/en18195211

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Influence of Surface Complexity and Atmospheric Stability on Wind Shear and Turbulence in a Peri-Urban Wind Energy Site

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Influence of Surface Complexity and Atmospheric Stability on Wind Shear and Turbulence in a Peri-Urban Wind Energy Site

Wei Zhang, Elliott Walker and Corey D. Markfort

Energies (Basel), Vol.18(19), 5211

09/30/2025

DOI: 10.3390/en18195211

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Abstract

The large-scale deployment of wind energy underscores the critical need for accurate resource characterization to reduce uncertainty in power estimates and to enable the installation of wind farms in increasingly complex terrains. Accurate wind resource assessment in peri-urban and moderately complex terrains remains a significant challenge due to spatial heterogeneity in surface terrain features and atmospheric thermal stability. This study investigates the influence of surface complexity and atmospheric stratification on vertical wind profiles at a utility-scale wind turbine site in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. One year of multi-level wind data from a 106-meter-tall meteorological tower were analyzed to quantify variations in the wind shear exponent α, wind direction veer, and horizontal turbulence intensity (TI) across open-field and complex-surface wind sectors and four thermal stability classes, defined by the bulk Richardson number Rib. The results show that the wind shear exponent α increases systematically with atmospheric stability. Over the open-field terrain, α ranges from 0.11 in unstable conditions to 0.45 in strongly stable conditions, compared to 0.17 and 0.40 over the complex surface. A pronounced diurnal variation in α was observed, particularly during the summer months. Wind veer was greatest and exceeded 30° under strongly stable conditions over open terrain. Elevated TI values peaked at 32 m in height due to flow separation and wake turbulence from nearby vegetation and sloping terrain. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating terrain-induced and thermally driven variability into wind resource assessments to improve power prediction and turbine siting in complex heterogeneous terrain environments.

boundary layer meteorology

atmospheric thermal stability

peri-urban environment

wind profiles

wind resource assessment

wind shear exponent

Details

Title: Subtitle: Influence of Surface Complexity and Atmospheric Stability on Wind Shear and Turbulence in a Peri-Urban Wind Energy Site
Creators: Wei Zhang - Texas Tech University
Elliott Walker - Texas Tech University
Corey D. Markfort - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Energies (Basel), Vol.18(19), 5211
DOI: 10.3390/en18195211
ISSN: 1996-1073
eISSN: 1996-1073
Publisher: MDPI
Grant note: National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREERNSF Great Lakes Wind Energy Challenges REU Site: 215000 NSF Iowa EPSCoR: 1101284 Center For Global & Regional Environmental Research (CGRER), University of Iowa
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER [Award #2533282]; NSF Great Lakes Wind Energy Challenges REU Site [Award #215000]; NSF Iowa EPSCoR [Award #1101284]; and the Center For Global & Regional Environmental Research (CGRER), University of Iowa.
Language: English
Date published: 09/30/2025
Academic Unit: Civil and Environmental Engineering; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Center for Global & Regional Environmental Research; Mechanical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984969241002771

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