WindPro and WAsP are two software tools used in the wind energy sector.
They help developers, investors and wind turbines manufacturers in wind resource assessment.
Wind resource assessment is the detailed study of the wind characteristics of the area. It is needed to define which is the most appropriate turbine model to use and what is the expected energy production.
Both software tools are widely used in the wind energy industry, but they have some differences in their origin, focus and functionality.
WindPro has been developed by EMD International A/S, a private company based in Denmark, and It is a paid-for software.
WAsP (short for “Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program”) has been developed by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Wind Energy department and I have been told is freely available for academic and research purposes. However, if you want the full package for commercial use, you will have to pay.
WindPro will help in wind farm design creating wind flow models, estimating the turbulence and wind shear and assessing the wind resource potential
WAsP, while it can also perform wind resource assessment and micro-siting, is particularly known for its expertise in micro-scale modeling. It can help predicting wind conditions around individual wind turbines and optimizing their placement.
“Micro-siting” is the study of the effects on the turbine if small displacements are made. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, moving a turbine a few tens of metres can have an important effect on wind turbulence, component loads and production-
WindPro is a modular software: it is possible to supplement the basic functionality with various modules, focused for example on environmental issues (shadows, noise, visibility), economic issues (to optimise investment) or designed to study turbine loads or production losses in detail.
From version 3.1 it also include a road design tool, and from version 3.2 the possibility to work with several dynamics maps downloaded on the fly (both satellite and topographic maps).
WAsP has a similar concept – they are selling a bundle that includes WAsP, WEng (the module calculating fatigue and extremen loads) and WAT (their Windfarm Assessment Tool).
Leave a Reply