Whiffle Wind
Site-specific WRGs and time series from full-physics LES, resolving the actual flow dynamics of your site. Delivered in hours, in the formats your existing tools already use.
Accurate wind and power data for every stage of your project - powered by atmospheric LES
Whiffle Wind is an online application for modelling the wind resource and expected energy yield for onshore and offshore projects, anywhere in the world. Behind every calculation is an atmospheric Large Eddy Simulation — resolving the actual flow physics of your site, not approximating them. The output integrates directly into your existing workflows, from Wind Resource Grids to 10-minute-averaged time series, giving you accurate site-specific data to reduce uncertainty and improve yield estimates throughout the development phase.
Choose the right output for your project stage
Statistics
Wind resource grids at sub-100m resolution for site screening, wind resource assessment and energy yield estimation.
- ✓ Wind speed, direction, shear and turbulence at up to six heights
- ✓ Long-term representative — 20-year statistics run
- ✓ Domains up to 128 km × 128 km at 100m spatial resolution
- ✓ Standard WRG format — exports to WindPRO and OpenWIND as normal
- ✓ Delivered within 24 hours
- ✓ Available via API for Python-based workflows
Both calibrated and non-calibrated WRGs delivered together, at no extra cost. Learn more →
Time series
10-minute interval time series at turbine and met mast locations for detailed AEP modelling, P50/P90 analysis and wake modelling inputs.
- ✓ Wind speed, direction, shear, turbulence, humidity and temperature
- ✓ 10-minute averaged LES data at turbine and met mast locations
- ✓ Optional gridded time series across up to three horizontal planes
- ✓ Available via API for Python-based workflows
Production time series in tabular hourly and monthly format per wind farm — supports capture price calculations, site evaluation and comparison.
Whiffle Wind Statistics
LES-based, long-term representative statistics
In complex terrain, wind is driven by more than orography. Forestry, atmospheric stability, thermal effects and canopy all play a role — and they interact. Whiffle LES resolves all of it directly from real weather inputs at sub-100m resolution, capturing the full flow structure of your site. Wind speed, direction, shear and turbulence at up to six heights. Compatible with WindPRO and OpenWIND. Typically delivered within 6–24 hours.
Whiffle Wind Time Series
The full picture. Not just the average.
Wind statistics tell you the long-term mean. They don’t tell you what happens hour by hour — the stability effects, the diurnal cycles, the wake interactions that drive the difference between your P50 and P90. For detailed AEP modelling, capture price calculations and wake modelling inputs, you need the full time dimension.
Whiffle Wind time series give you 10-minute interval LES data at every turbine and met mast location on your site. Every time step reflects real atmospheric conditions — stability, diurnal cycles, wakes and blockage resolved directly from physics, not resampled from a wind rose. Wind speed, direction, shear, turbulence, humidity and temperature. Optional gridded time series across up to three horizontal planes.
A must-have tool for wind resource analysts
LES-based Accuracy
Our LES model achieves a typical bias lower than 36% compared to meso-scale models*, due to its high-resolution modelling capabilities.
(*Comparing error statistics of 125 sites with NEWA data.)
Seamless integration
Data provided is directly compatible with WindPRO, OpenWind, and other wind resource assessments tools for hassle-free workflows.
Full-physics simulations
Model wind climate under real atmospheric conditions – no assumptions, just physics.
Scalable and cost effective
GPU acceleration delivers fast, scalable simulations, ensuring cost efficiency andadaptability for projects of any size.
How does it work?
Setting up and running LES simulations for your wind farm or site is easy – all it takes is a few simple clicks. Depending on project size, results are delivered within 1 to 5 days.
Step 1: Provide
Input your project details, turbines and met masts, and draw the LES area (same as WRG area) in our user interface.
Step 2: Submit
Review the output settings, the simulation setup and price, then submit for processing.
Step 3: Retrieve
Explore the results dashboard with wind, power and turbulence statistics.
Whiffle Wind is powered by the Whiffle LES model
Linear models approximate orography, forestry and atmospheric stability as correction factors. CFD models solve non-linear flow equations but don’t resolve the full turbulent regime. Both approaches parametrise what Whiffle LES resolves directly.
Whiffle LES solves the equations of atmospheric physics on a 100m grid – orography, canopy height, turbulence, wakes, blockage and atmospheric stability all emerging naturally from the physics. Coupled to ERA5, it simulates any weather in any location, capturing diurnal cycles, seasonal variation and stability effects that conventional models cannot represent.
Validated against 170+ sites and 300+ met masts in a joint study with RWE, the Whiffle LES model shows a near-zero mean wind speed bias (μ = 0.044 m/s). Compared to datasets like NEWA WRF, this represents a reduction in uncertainty by nearly a factor of two.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is LES?
Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for resolving turbulence and is gaining increased attention in the wind energy sector. The benefits of LES to model the wake and global blockage effects of wind farms lie in the fact it can model the interaction between wind farms and the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). A recent overview on various aspects of the atmospheric flow through wind farms is presented in Stevens and Meneveau’s 2017 paper: Flow Structure and Turbulence in Wind Farms, volume 49.
Are wakes and blockage included?
Yes. LES physically models the phenomena of wind, pressure and atmospheric stability and their interaction with wind turbine-induced wake and blockage effects. Therefore, we don’t have to rely on non-physical/empirical correction factors for example blockage effects and deep-array effects
Are external wind farm effects included?
By default, external wind farms are not included in the simulation. However, external wind farms can be added to the simulation; then their effects on the target wind farm will be modelled and included. If you wish to have additional analysis of external effects, you may want to consider making use of Whiffle’s Consulting service. For more information, feel free to send an email to info@whiffle.nl.
In Whiffle Wind, can I run multiple simulations in parallel?
Yes, Whiffle Wind allows you to run multiple configurations and scenarios efficiently, providing fast results for different project designs or turbine layouts.
Does Whiffle Wind account for forest canopy effects?
Yes, Whiffle’s LES model accurately captures forest canopy impacts, including height and density, making it ideal for onshore projects in forested areas.
What is the uncertainty of Whiffle Wind’s AEP prediction?
Using SCADA data of wind farms, it is possible to make ex-post assessments of Annual Energy Production (AEP) predictions. Based on a small (N ≤ 10) sample of wind farms that Whiffle has modelled, we estimate the mean error of AEP predictions are around 2% (Whiffle’s model tends to underpredict AEP) with a standard deviation of 4%. These numbers are based on raw output from Whiffle Wind without any long-term correction or correction of mean wind speed biases. Therefore, this number represents not only errors in aerodynamic losses, but also errors in the mean wind speed.
What is the largest domain that can be simulated?
Currently a 128 km x 128 km domain is the largest. However, we’re working hard to make this even larger! If you need a larger domain, certainly feel free to contact Whiffle’s Consulting service via info@whiffle.nl.
What is the resolution and why?
The default resolution of our LES is 100 m x 100 m in the horizontal plane, 25 m vertically close to the ground. Our LES has been extensively validated on a wide range of sites (onshore, offshore, complex terrain) and wind farms for this resolution and provides the best trade-off between cost and accuracy.
If you require other resolutions, please consider Whiffle’s Consultancy service which can be contacted via info@whiffle.nl.
How long will it take for the simulation to run?
This depends on the domain size and length of the simulation, as well as how many other simulations have been requested and are in the queue. As a rough guideline, generally a one-day simulation should be available the next day or sooner, and generally a full year simulation should be available the next week or sooner.
How do I get started with Whiffle Wind?
You can get started with creating your account, by filling in this form.