A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United States

<p>This study examines the potential for distributed wind (DW) energy across the contiguous United States, leveraging advancements in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's distributed wind model, dWind. The novel modeling approach described here utilizes a high-resolution dataset and...

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Main Authors: J. Lockshin, P. Pérez, S. Podgorny, M. Sizemore, P. Das, J. D. Laurence-Chasen, P. Crook, C. Phillips
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2025-07-01
Series:Wind Energy Science
Online Access:https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/1231/2025/wes-10-1231-2025.pdf
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author J. Lockshin
P. Pérez
S. Podgorny
M. Sizemore
P. Das
J. D. Laurence-Chasen
P. Crook
C. Phillips
author_facet J. Lockshin
P. Pérez
S. Podgorny
M. Sizemore
P. Das
J. D. Laurence-Chasen
P. Crook
C. Phillips
author_sort J. Lockshin
collection DOAJ
description <p>This study examines the potential for distributed wind (DW) energy across the contiguous United States, leveraging advancements in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's distributed wind model, dWind. The novel modeling approach described here utilizes a high-resolution dataset and analyzes over 150 million parcels, a significant improvement from prior methods that extrapolated results from a smaller random sample. This achievement is enabled through key model performance improvements, such as transitioning to multiprocessing, which reduces runtime by 97 %. This optimized, high-resolution approach allows the inspection of technology deployment potential and impact on a variety of scales tailored to individual properties and regions. The results here align with prior work showing substantial opportunity for energy generation using DW technologies. Key findings reveal a substantial increase from prior results in estimated technical and economic potential for DW. Metrics tuned to highlight economic potential also show increased incentives supporting rural adoption. Results are spatially aggregated for usability and published via the U.S. Department of Energy Wind Data Portal and a custom scenario visualization platform, aiding policymakers, industry, and property owners in assessing DW viability across various scenarios and spatial scales.</p>
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issn 2366-7443
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publishDate 2025-07-01
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series Wind Energy Science
spelling doaj-art-7e8ad1fb4eba455692dc0c44d6f970022025-08-20T02:42:15ZengCopernicus PublicationsWind Energy Science2366-74432366-74512025-07-01101231124810.5194/wes-10-1231-2025A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United StatesJ. Lockshin0P. Pérez1S. Podgorny2M. Sizemore3P. Das4J. D. Laurence-Chasen5P. Crook6C. Phillips7National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USANational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USANational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USANational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USANational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USANational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USANational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USANational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA<p>This study examines the potential for distributed wind (DW) energy across the contiguous United States, leveraging advancements in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's distributed wind model, dWind. The novel modeling approach described here utilizes a high-resolution dataset and analyzes over 150 million parcels, a significant improvement from prior methods that extrapolated results from a smaller random sample. This achievement is enabled through key model performance improvements, such as transitioning to multiprocessing, which reduces runtime by 97 %. This optimized, high-resolution approach allows the inspection of technology deployment potential and impact on a variety of scales tailored to individual properties and regions. The results here align with prior work showing substantial opportunity for energy generation using DW technologies. Key findings reveal a substantial increase from prior results in estimated technical and economic potential for DW. Metrics tuned to highlight economic potential also show increased incentives supporting rural adoption. Results are spatially aggregated for usability and published via the U.S. Department of Energy Wind Data Portal and a custom scenario visualization platform, aiding policymakers, industry, and property owners in assessing DW viability across various scenarios and spatial scales.</p>https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/1231/2025/wes-10-1231-2025.pdf
spellingShingle J. Lockshin
P. Pérez
S. Podgorny
M. Sizemore
P. Das
J. D. Laurence-Chasen
P. Crook
C. Phillips
A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United States
Wind Energy Science
title A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United States
title_full A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United States
title_fullStr A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United States
title_full_unstemmed A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United States
title_short A parcel-level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous United States
title_sort parcel level evaluation of distributed wind opportunity in the contiguous united states
url https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/1231/2025/wes-10-1231-2025.pdf
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