Richland, ~shington 99352Within the Federal Wind Energy Program, the Wind Characteristics Program Element (WCPE) has been established to assemble and develop wind characteristics information for those involved in 1) designing and evaluating the performance of wind energy conversion systems (WECS) , 2) planning energy programs, 3) selecting sites for installing WECS, and 4) operating WECS. The technical portion of the•WCPE has been divided into four program areas to expedite the accomplishment of these tasks. Research plans and overall progress to date are presented with emphasis on the Resource Assessment Program area.