NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area

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

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: This licence is being issued for the scientific research application no. 990. 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. The wind monitoring equipment was installed in September 2008 and this site will continue to collect wind data until September 2010. 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. 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. 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. A wind monitor will be hired in the community on Norman Wells to assist with the wind tower installation and data collection. The scientific equipment and data collection will be maintained by the wind monitor in the community. The results from this study will be compiled in a report which will be posted on the Aurora Research Institute website. Copies of the report will also be distributed to the Norman Wells community organizations. A pre-feasibility report is currently available on the Aurora Research Institute website. A final report will be compiled with a complete wind analysis including two full years of data after the completion of the wind monitoring in September 2010. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted in Norman Wells from January 1 to December 31, 2009. NOTE: This application has been reviewed by communities for up to and including 2010.