In Montana, people use more electricity, in general, during the winter. In California, people use more electricity in the afternoon and during the summer. In Montana, strong winter winds channeled through Rocky Mountain valleys create more intense winds during the winter.įortunately, the seasonal variations in wind speeds in California and Montana match the electricity demands of consumers in those states. As the hot air over the desert rises, the cooler, denser air above the Pacific Ocean rushes through the Tehachapi mountain pass to take its place. These fluctuations are a result of the extreme heat of the Mojave Desert during summer months.
![home wind power wind map home wind power wind map](https://windexchange.energy.gov/files/u/visualization/image/ia_110m_potential.jpg)
For example, in Tehachapi, California, where numerous wind turbines are located, the wind blows more frequently from April through October than it does in the winter, and the wind is usually strongest in the afternoon. Wind speeds generally change throughout the day and from season to season. Wind energy resources vary hourly and seasonally throughout the United States. In the area of the Hauraki gulf it seems that the wind often plays tricks, going from a speed of 12 knots in the city, while a few kilometers from there, there can be as many as 20 or 25 knots.įor this reason it can happen that the America’s Cup regattas between the Luna Rossa team and the New Zealand team are postponed due to calm sea and the next day they find themselves at sea competing with wind at 30 knots, with considerable operating difficulty.Click to enlarge Wind speeds vary hourly and seasonally Wind is nothing more than a mass of air moving from a high pressure area to a low pressure area, and the greater is the pressure difference, the higher is the wind speed. In any case, although boats like Luna Rossa and New Zealand are sophisticated and equipped with the most innovative technological means, the usual three elements – the sea, the man and the wind power – are the ones that always decide the fate of a regatta. These foils are appendages that produce an upward thrust and make the catamaran lift almost completely out of the water, thus reducing the resistance of the water itself (hydrodynamic resistance) and significantly increasing the cruising speed. In fact, for some years these catamarans have even been equipped with foils with which the boats seem to fly on the water. The America’s Cup is the Formula 1 or the Moto GP of boats, a race where technology is king on cutting-edge catamarans. The regattas in which Luna Rossa takes part are called match race regattas, which are races between two monotype boats, and are hand-to-hand races, where the crews keep themselves under control and try to gain an advantage from every slightest mistake of the opponent. The windiest areas are found in central and southern Italy, with Sardinia and Sicily having the primacy of areas more exposed to the wind and therefore more attractive for the installation of wind power plants.įor example, in the sea surrounding Sardinia there is an average wind level of up to 10 m/s, so the installation of any off-shore parks in these areas would certainly be profitable as a sustainable energy production.Īt the beginning of this article we mentioned New Zealand, not surprisingly, since in this period the America’s Cup is taking place at the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, an area where the wind is often crazy, at least so they say. In Italy, wind conditions largely depend on the conformation of the territory, which is by its nature very uneven. This tool was created years ago to help, above all, companies and investors to plan the opportunity for wind installations, from small domestic micro wind systems to large offshore wind plants. at 25, 50, 75, 100 meters in altitude, and this is because at higher altitudes the breeze is more stable and usually of greater intensity.įor the specific analysis of the Italian peninsula there is ATLAEOLICO, which provides data on windiness in Italy, including marine areas. In Italy, the average speed is measured up to 40 km from the coasts and at different heights, i.e. For this purpose, the annual average speed is more useful and it is precisely one of the data collected by a wind atlas. A wind atlas is a map of the winds and it is used to accurately identify the areas with greater windiness, therefore more suitable for hosting a wind power plant.