Anemometer Height Question

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

October 2007

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Question

• Should applicants always use the true anemometer height in AERMET (i.e., the height above ground-level), or are there situations where they should use the “effective” height (e.g., where the anemometer is placed on top of a small knoll)?

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UniSea Example• UniSea operates a seafood processing plant in

Dutch Harbor (Aleutian Islands)– Produce own electrical power via diesel-fired

reciprocating engines– Operate boilers/heaters for processing needs– Stack heights are 18-meters or less

• Recently installed 10-meter tower on a small knoll to obtain data for future permitting needs– No current expansion plans, but want data on hand– Knoll was only available place to site met tower – See following pictures

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UniSea/Dutch Harbor

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UniSea - Aerial

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Views from Met Tower

Looking NorthLocation of Monitoring Site(pre-installation)

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Views from Met Tower (2)

Looking East Looking South

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Views from Met Tower (3)

Looking West

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Another View of UniSea

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UniSea Engine Stacks

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UniSea Example (cont’d)

• Should AERMET anemometer height be:– 10-meters (true height), or– 10-meters plus hill height?

• Should AERMET delta-T levels be:– 2-meters and 10-meters (true heights), or– 2+hill and 10+hill?