NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area

Tags: physical sciences, atmospheric sciences, economic feasibility, wind monitoring

Objective(s): The objective of this wind monitoring proposal is to quantify the wind energy potential for the economic feasibility of building a wind farm in Norman Wells, a remote community that is dependant on gas-electric generation.

Project Description: The objective of this wind monitoring proposal is to quantify the wind energy potential for the economic feasibility of building a wind farm in Norman Wells, a remote community that is dependant on gas-electric generation. This project will involve four main activities: 1) Wind monitoring station site inspection. The project engineer and project coordinator will travel to the community of Norman Wells to meet with the Town and inspect the wind tower installation site. This will be required to gather the information required to apply for a land use permit from the GNWT Municipal and Community Affairs. 2) Installation of wind tower and wind monitoring equipment at the monitoring site. The wind monitoring equipment that will be installed at the site will include a 50m tower with 6 calibrated anemometers which will be positioned at 10m, 20m, 30m, 40m and 50m (2 at this level). Additional sensors will include a wind vane and temperature sensors. 3) Wind Energy Pre-feasibility Analysis and Consultation with the Town. A wind energy pre-feasibility analysis will be conducted as a desktop study. As a part of the pre-feasibility study, the project group will consult with the Town of Norman Wells, NTPC and Imperial Oil about the current and future power systems in Norman Wells. 4) Wind monitoring data collection, analysis and reporting. The pre-feasibility analysis, tower installation and instrumentation will be lead by the project engineer and will be supported by a technician from the Aurora Research Institute (ARI). The site installation will be conducted with the assistance of a community member who will be trained to maintain the wind monitoring equipment and data collection at the site. The community wind monitor will visit the wind tower site monthly and maintain the monitoring site equipment. Data files will be downloaded monthly. Reporting and data management will be maintained by the ARI staff in conjunction with the project engineer. Wind monitoring data will be collected for a period of two years. All data will be stored at the ARI and will be analyzed by the project engineer. The wind monitoring equipment will be removed from each site when two years of data collection are complete. This will be conducted by the ARI technician with the assistance of the community wind monitor. A pre-feasibility report with preliminary wind data analysis will be produced after one year of data collection and a final report will be compiled with two years of data after the completion of the wind monitoring. The report will be posted on the Aurora Research Institute website. Copies of the report will also be distributed to the Norman Wells community organizations. Fieldwork will be conducted from September 04 to December 31, 2007 at the Kee Scarp, which is located within the municipal boundary of Norman Wells and upon Commissioner’s Land.