Research Project MENTOR

The availability of land is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving the expansion targets for wind energy. The federal government therefore stipulates that the federal states must designate areas for wind energy use. In order to ensure the rapid expansion of wind energy, it is of central importance that the designated areas are used promptly and efficiently. Analyses of the expansion of wind energy to date show that, due to various restrictions, the targeted installed capacity has often not been achieved on the sites. It is therefore important to record any restrictions that arise, to quantify their effects and to estimate realistic scenarios for the development of the areas.

In its sub-project, Fraunhofer IEE is developing methods and models for linking the issue of available space with the expected energy quantities. To this end, GIS data in particular is being acquired and processed and stored for automated use. Fraunhofer IEE is developing the necessary overall framework for the integration of the restrictions for improved yield and performance estimation. Based on the analyses of the project partners, an automated and detailed procedure for estimating regionalized wind turbine yields on the designated or currently designated wind energy areas will also be developed, taking into account site-specific and regional restrictions.

The results will be discussed with the wind industry, politicians and regional planners and made available to the public via a FA Wind web interface. Based on the results, measures for efficient, accelerated wind energy expansion can be derived.