Arkansas Wind Working Group Launches Tall-Tower Study: A Wind Powering America Success Story

April 28, 2010

In 2009, the Arkansas Wind Working Group used American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to launch a tall-tower study to measure wind speeds in the state at heights of 80 to 100 meters, the typical height of commercial utility-scale turbines. Jenny Ahlen, coordinator for renewable energy programs at the Arkansas Energy Office and leader of one of Wind Powering America's newest Wind Working Groups, hopes the tall-tower study and the resulting data will encourage future commercial wind energy development in a state that currently has none.

The Arkansas Wind Working Group also received preliminary assistance from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Technical Assistance Project (TAP). NREL provided the Wind Working Group with maps that show priority areas, major transmission lines, county boundaries, and major population centers. These maps will be compared with current maps that show existing towers and ownership to determine the top 25 towers that would work for the study. The Wind Working Group will contact the individual owners to determine if a partnership can be established in order to install the anemometers.