EOSOLAR Project: Assessment of Wind Resources of a Coastal Equatorial Region of Brazil-Overview and Preliminary Results

The EOSOLAR project was designed to investigate the structure of the atmospheric boundary layer in an equatorial coastal zone, where the discontinuity of surface conditions induces non-stationarity gradients of wind speeds and the development of internal boundary layers. The proposed methodology considers several aspects of the sea-land transition meteorology that are essential for precisely estimating wind-solar energy potential and assessment of structural loads on wind turbines. Infrared (LIDAR) and acoustic (SODAR) ground-based remote sensing instruments and micrometeorological towers were installed in a near-shore equatorial area of northeast Brazil, in order to provide a comprehensive view of meteorological processes. This paper reports a description of the project study area, methodology, and instrumentation used. Details of instruments configurations, a validation of micrometeorology towers, and a comparison between the LIDAR and SODAR are presented. Results of the first field campaign measuring the coastal flow, integrating the micrometeorological tower and LIDAR observations are described.

Automated summary

The EOSOLAR project aims to investigate the structure of the atmospheric boundary layer in an equatorial coastal zone using ground-based remote sensing instruments and micrometeorological towers. This paper describes the study area, methodology, and instrumentation of the project, and presents results of the first field campaign and instrument validation.