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Iowa State gets wind research grantIowa Iowa State University in collaboration with Anemometry Specialists Inc. will develop a new measurement platform for offshore wind energy through a grant from the Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development. Eugene Takle, professor of agricultural meteorology and director of the climate science program at Iowa State, is the principal investigator on the project. The $300,000 research grant from IAWIND will be matched by Anemometry Specialists, a wind energy assessment company of Alta, Iowa, and Cedar Crest, N.M. The grant will be used to develop a balloon-borne, buoy-mounted measurement platform for offshore wind energy resource assessment. Darielle Dexheimer, an Anemometry Specialists meteorologist who has worked in the wind industry since 2005, conceptualized the system and will develop and evaluate the instrumentation in onshore and offshore environments. Meteorological towers have been used for several decades to assess boundary layer wind speeds at potential wind development sites on land. However, high equipment and installation costs are associated with this approach in the offshore environment. The total cost of energy for an offshore wind farm could be reduced by up to 4 percent if a buoy-based system was used for wind resource assessment rather than an offshore meteorological tower, according to IAWIND. Takle has researched wind science and energy since 1975, beginning with research funded by the Iowa Energy Council to assess the wind energy potential for Iowa. IAWIND is a partnership among Iowa's Regents universities, community colleges, industry and the Iowa Department of Economic Development to attract and nurture wind energy and related industries. For more information on IAWIND, visit www.iawind.org. Date: 10/15/2012
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