Where are the best wind energy resources in New England?
New England has a number of sites with wind speeds strong enough to generate electricity at a commercial scale. Most of these locations are on mountain ridges, along shorelines, and off shore. Because most of the region is densely developed and many of these areas are valued for competing uses, much of the potentially usable wind resources in New England is unlikely to be developed. Commercial wind power projects using large turbines generally require mean wind speeds of at least 7 meters/second. Click here1 to see a wind map of New England prepared by AWS Truewind (a private contractor) for MTC, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, and Northeast Utilities. When you select a state on the New England Wind Map you will see a pull-down menu at the top of the screen to choose a height for wind speed information. Wind speeds at a height of 70 meters are applicable for siting large-scale turbines. All of the commercial wind energy projects currently operating, permitted, or under construction
