Editing Measurement tower (section)

===Wind farm development===

Before [[Wind farm#Location planning|developers construct a wind farm]], they first measure the wind resource on a prospective site by erecting temporary measurement towers. Typically these mount [[anemometer]]s at a range of heights up to the hub height of the proposed wind turbines, and log the wind speed data at frequent intervals (e.g. every ten minutes)<ref name="anemometer_loan">{{cite web
  |url=http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/anemometer_loans.asp
  |title=Anemometer Loan Programs
  |publisher=Wind Powering America, [[National Renewable Energy Laboratory|NREL]], [[United States Department of Energy|USDOE]]
  |accessdate=2010-05-04
  |date=2009-09-01
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425054143/http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/anemometer_loans.asp
  |archive-date=2010-04-25
  |url-status=dead
  }}</ref> for at least one year and preferably two or more. The data allow the developer to determine if the site is economically viable for a wind farm, and to choose wind turbines optimized for the local wind speed distribution.