Spatiotemporal variation of power law exponent on the use of wind energy

Xinrong Yang, Xin Jiang, Shijing Liang, Yingzuo Qin, Fan Ye, Bin Ye, Jiayu Xu, Xinyue He, Jie Wu, Tianyun Dong, Xitian Cai, Rongrong Xu and Zhenzhong Zeng

Applied Energy, 2024, vol. 356, issue C, No S0306261923018056

Abstract: The power law, a common method in wind energy assessments, often assumes a global power law exponent (α) of 1/7, potentially leading to inaccuracies in estimating wind conditions and energy potential. This study uses high-frequency measurements from eight wind towers to assess the power law's reliability and demonstrates its general applicability, except in complex topography. The α value is found to differ significantly from 1/7 in validation sites, yet it can be reliably used in ERA5 data based on regional verification. To evaluate the global spatiotemporal variation of α, we analyze the hourly α from 1980 to 2022 using ERA5 wind speed data at 10 m and 100 m. Our findings reveal varying α value with time and geography, with particular disparities between land and ocean. Additionally, we observe changes related to diurnal cycles, seasons, and latitudes. This analysis of α value carries significant implications for a global-scale wind energy resource assessment, site selection, and turbine design.

Keywords: Power law exponent; Multiple heights; Spatiotemporal variation; Wind energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261923018056
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:356:y:2024:i:c:s0306261923018056

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122441

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().