WRF wind simulation and wind energy production estimates forced by different reanalyses: Comparison with observed data for Portugal

Six different WRF simulations were conducted and their results compared to measured wind data collected at thirteen wind measuring stations located in Portugal in areas of high wind energy potential. Based on the analysis and results presented in this work, it can be concluded that the new generation reanalyses are able to provide a considerable improvement in wind simulation when compared to the older reanalyses. Among all the initial and boundary conditions datasets tested here, ERA-Interim reanalysis is the one that likely provides the most realistic initial and boundary data, providing the best estimates of the local wind regimes and potential wind energy production. The NCEP-GFS and NCEP-FNL analyses seem to be the best alternatives to ERA-Interim, showing better results than all the other reanalyses datasets here tested, and can therefore be considered as valid alternatives to ERA-Interim, in particular for cases where reliable forcing data is needed for real-time applications due to its fast availability.