Bolivia, rich in natural gas and hydropower potential but with one of the lowest rural electrification rates in South America, will soon have its wind resources mapped at a resolution of 2 kilometers. 3TIER recently was engaged by the IFC (part of the World Bank Group) to develop the Bolivia map, which should be released later this year. The project complements our REmapping the World initiative by accelerating the delivery of reliable information about available wind resources. Like the 5-kilometer-resolution Mexico map we released yesterday, the Bolivia map will be viewable for free online via FirstLook.   

Today at WINDPOWER, 3TIER announced the online release of a 5-kilometer-resolution wind map of Mexico. If you’re in Houston, visit us at booth 1253 for a North American wind poster. Like the online map, the poster is free.

If you’re not in Houston, you can check out the 5 km Mexico wind map on our FirstLook site. This release is part of our REmapping the World project, which provides free, accurate information on renewable energy resources. The 15 km world wind map was released in March 2008; now we’re steadily producing maps of the globe at higher resolutions, country by country.

Stay tuned: We’ll be making more announcements from Houston this week.

Everyone’s busy preparing for the trip to Houston from June 1 to 4 for WINDPOWER, the annual party thrown by the American Wind Energy Association. If you’ll be there, come see us at booth 1253, and pick up a free world wind map poster with a special surprise on the other side.

And look for us in the following sessions:

Wind Forecasting 101
Sunday, June 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Pascal Storck will chair the seminar; Eric Grimit will help instruct.

Applications in Wind Energy Forecasting
Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Cameron Potter will moderate this panel discussion.

Future Topics for Utility Evaluation of Wind Generation
Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Eric Grimit will present “A Prototype Day-Ahead Forecast System for Rapid Wind Ramp Events.”

Understanding Project Operational Results
Wednesday, June 4, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Cam Potter will present “Non-Deterministic Wind Speed to Power Output Conversion.”

Browse or search the entire WINDPOWER conference program for other things to do and see in Houston.

If, like me, you think extracting the bitumen from the Alberta tar sands for oil is an object lesson in unsustainability, you’ll be glad to know that 3TIER has added Canada to the FirstLook 5 kilometer-resolution wind map portfolio.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association reports:

In the past few years, wind energy production in Canada has grown to 1,856 MW. While this is encouraging, Canada still has vast untapped wind resources available. In fact, there is the potential in Canada for wind energy to meet a full 20% of all our electricity needs.

3TIER wind maps are now available for Alaska, too. The Alaska Energy Authority “lends out” met towers and data collecting equipment to communities that want to find out if they have the potential for municipal wind projects. I applaud Alaska, a state so rich in oil that its denizens get a divided check each year, for its commitment to renewable energy.

Some other states, like Ohio and Texas, have met tower loaner programs. Have any readers made use of them?