Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, 2014, 4, 100-121 Published Online January 2014 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/acs ) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/acs.2014.41013 Wind Power Potential in Interior Alaska from a Micrometeorological Perspective Hannah K. Ross 1 , John Cooney 2 , Megan Hinzman 3 , Samuel Smock 4 , Gary Sellhorst 5 , Ralph Dlugi 6 , Nicole Mölders 5,7 , Gerhard Kramm 5* 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, USA 2 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Geosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA 3 College of Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA 4 Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University, New York, USA 5 Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA 6 Arbeitgruppe Atmosphärische Prozesse (AGAP), Munich, Germany 7 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA Email: * kramm@gi.alaska.edu Received November 26, 2013; revised December 22, 2013; accepted December 29, 2013 Copyright © 2014 Hannah K. Ross et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In accor- dance of the Creative Commons Attribution License all Copyrights © 2014 are reserved for SCIRP and the owner of the intellectual property Hannah K. Ross et al. All Copyright © 2014 are guarded by law and by SCIRP as a guardian. ABSTRACT The wind power potential in Interior Alaska is evaluated from a micrometeorological perspective. Based on the local balance equation of momentum and the equation of continuity we derive the local balance equation of ki- netic energy for macroscopic and turbulent systems, and in a further step, Bernoulli’s equation and integral equations that customarily serve as the key equations in momentum theory and blade-element analysis, where the Lanchester-Betz-Joukowsky limit, Glauert’s optimum actuator disk, and the results of the blade-element analysis by Okulov and Sørensen are exemplarily illustrated. The wind power potential at three different sites in Interior Alaska (Delta Junction, Eva Creek, and Poker Flat) is assessed by considering the results of wind field predictions for the winter period from October 1, 2008, to April 1, 2009 provided by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to avoid time-consuming and expensive tall-tower observations in Interior Alaska which is characterized by a relatively low degree of infrastructure outside of the city of Fairbanks. To predict the average power output we use the Weibull distributions derived from the predicted wind fields for these three different sites and the power curves of five different propeller-type wind turbines with rated powers ranging from 2 MW to 2.5 MW. These power curves are represented by general logistic functions. The predicted power capacity for the Eva Creek site is compared with that of the Eva Creek wind farm established in 2012. The re- sults of our predictions for the winter period 2008/2009 are nearly 20 percent lower than those of the Eva Creek wind farm for the period from January to September 2013. KEYWORDS Wind Power; Power Efficiency; Wind Power Potential; Wind Power Prediction; WRF/Chem; Micrometeorology; Momentum Theory; Blade Element Analysis; Betz Limit; Glauert’s Optimum Rotor; Balance Equation for Momentum; Equation of Continuity; Balance Equation for Kinetic Energy; Reynolds’ Average; Hesselberg’s Average; Bernoulli’s Equation; Integral Equations; Weibull Distribution; General Logistic Function; Eva Creek Wind Farm 1. Introduction Countries around the world are becoming more industrial- ized raising global energy demand. Increased demand has caused problems to arise owing to the consumption of so-called fossil fuels to supply the energy required. This reason has prompted, for instance, the United States * Corresponding author. OPEN ACCESS ACS