Using the microclimate to optimise renewable energy installations

When selecting small-scale renewable energy devices, the microclimate should be an important consideration. Small differences, perhaps magnified by extreme conditions, accumulate over the year and can significantly affect the economics of an installation. This makes it desirable to acquire sufficient weather data at a planning stage to enable the microclimate to be adequately modelled. Variation in wind and temperature is shown to exist even in a seemingly homogeneous region through case study which examines the effect of a particular storm event in the Western Isles of Scotland on 11 and 12 January 2005, and also assesses the annual variation in wind energy and temperature across the same region. Other research applications that rely on data repeatability rather than accuracy are also considered.