3Tier releases world wind map

3Tier is remapping the world. The Seattle-based company released the world’s first global wind map in early March. The map, called FirstLook Assessment, allows anyone to view wind data from any 15-kilometer block of the planet from a height of 80 meters.

3Tier developed the map at its own cost, according to a company statement. The company says it is making the resource available for free so that developers anywhere in the world can can easily get a first-look assessment of a potential wind power site.

3Tier CEO and founder Kenneth Westrick says the company hopes this will make it easier for developing countries to “leap frog” over the use of fossil fuels. “What we are offering for free allows countries and organizations to begin serious discussions about how to utilize the potential wind resource and what type of policies should be implemented to encourage renewable energy development,” Westrick says.

The worldwide wind map shows nearly 40 percent of the world’s land mass has wind speeds exceeding 6 meters per second. Though much of the land is not accessible to commercial development, the map shows a large wind resource remains untapped. Currently, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the global land mass has been developed for large-scale wind projects, according to a 3Tier release.

Developers generally need a map to show wind resources at a resolution of 5 kilometers, and 3Tier has already developed a 5-kilometer map of of U.S. wind and solar resources  Over the next 21 months, the 3Tier plans to gather 5-kilometer resource maps for other countries based on a priority order that takes into account such issues as renewable energy policies, availability of the country's wind resource and its economic status.

The company says it also plans to release solar assessment maps on a quarterly basis beginning in 2009.