Well first off…there’s been a huge push for renewable energy in the US.   And as many of you know, wind is a significant source of renewable energy and wind energy companies are sprouting up all over the world.  And wind meteorologists have followed suit. (Click to see why Solar Energy Meteorologists have too!)

Having worked for the largest wind developer in the world, I got to see first hand the direct impact of wind meteorologists.   In doing so, I observed why wind meteorologists are so valuable.   Below are three ways I noticed why wind meteorologists are valuable to a wind farm developer and/or operator..

First:  Let’s say a wind farm developer wants to build a wind farm in a geographic region.  They basically want to find a land area where the wind blows consistent enough throughout the area for them to make money.  So wind meteorologists are tasked to do studies on the geographic region using weather models/climate data to identify which parcels of land are prone to wind.

Second:  Next, they will work with the wind development team to determine where meteorological equipment should be placed.  They will record and analyze the data from this equipment for a period of approximately 2 years.   Once enough data is recorded, wind meteorologists will present the data to upper management as one piece of the puzzle to determine if the wind developer should make the investment in the land.

Third:  Wind meteorologists help power traders make money.   Wind is a very important variable when it comes to power trading.  There are two forms of power trading that wind mets support:  Real time trading and Day Ahead/Forward trading.

a) In Real time trading, wind meteorologists make wind forecasts each hour (in a 24 hour period).  They do their best to forecast any “spikes” in wind or any major “drop off” in wind for a particular wind farm location.

 b) In Forward Trading, they make forecasts from Day 1 through Day 15 for a particular wind area.  This gives power traders a sense of whether wind will blow in a particular day or not.  Believe it or not, they can trade this information and make money off of it

Bottom line:  Wind meteorologists are very valuable to wind farm developers/operators.   It is also a great entry level job for many college graduates.   In another post, I’ll give you some tips on how to break into wind energy companies.  Stay tuned!