A methodology for evaluating the spatial variability of wind energy resources: Application to assess the potential contribution of wind energy to baseload power

F.J. Santos-Alamillos, D. Pozo-Vázquez, J.A. Ruiz-Arias, V. Lara-Fanego and J. Tovar-Pescador

Renewable Energy, 2014, vol. 69, issue C, 147-156

Abstract: We propose a method for analyzing the potential contribution of wind energy resources to stable (baseload) power within a region. The method uses principal component analysis (PCA) to analyze spatiotemporal balancing of wind energy resources and then assesses the optimal wind farm location to reduce wind power fluctuations. The ability of different reference wind turbines, alone or interconnected, to provide stable power is ultimately evaluated at selected locations. The method was tested in the southern Iberian Peninsula, including offshore areas. We used hourly wind energy estimates from the WRF mesoscale model at 3-km spatial resolution for the period 2008–2010. First, results show a valuable spatial balancing pattern between the wind energy resources in the northeast study region and Strait of Gibraltar area. The pattern was found to result from the interaction of mesoscale zonal flow with the complex topography of the region. Second, the results indicate that by taking advantage of the spatial balancing pattern, the optimal allocation and interconnection of wind farms across the region, can substantially reduce wind power fluctuations. This optimal allocation can in some cases generate stable power, thereby contributing to baseload power.

Keywords: Wind energy variability; PCA; Andalusia; Firm capacity; Balancing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148114001499
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:renene:v:69:y:2014:i:c:p:147-156

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2014.03.006

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides

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