Optimization and Evaluation of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model for Wind Energy Resource Assessment and Mapping in Iran

作者：Abbas Ranjbar Saadatabadi, Nasim Hossein Hamzeh‎, Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, Zahra Ghasabi, Mohammadreza Mohammadpour Penchah, Rafaella‐Eleni P. Sotiropoulou, Maral Habibi · 发表于：Applied Sciences · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.3390/app14083304 · 被引用次数：13 · 研究领域：Wind Energy Research and Development、Climate variability and models、Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations

This study aims to optimize the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model regarding the choice of the best planetary boundary layer (PBL) physical scheme and to evaluate the model’s performance for wind energy assessment and mapping over the Iranian territory. In this initiative, five PBL and surface layer parameterization schemes were tested, and their performance was evaluated via comparison with observational wind data. The study used two-way nesting domains with spatial resolutions of 15 km and 5 km to represent atmospheric circulation patterns affecting the study area. Additionally, a seventeen-year simulation (2004–2020) was conducted, producing wind datasets for the entire Iranian territory. The accuracy of the WRF model was assessed by comparing its results with observations from multiple sites and with the high-resolution Global Wind Atlas. Statistical parameters and wind power density were calculated from the simulated data and compared with observations to evaluate wind energy potential at specific sites. The model’s performance was sensitive to the horizontal resolution of the terrain data, with weaker simulations for wind speeds below 3 m/s and above 10 m/s. The results confirm that the WRF model provides reliable wind speed data for realistic wind energy assessment studies in Iran. The model-generated wind resource map identifies areas with high wind (wind speed > 5.6 m/s) potential that are currently without wind farms or Aeolic parks for exploitation of ...