Wind Resource Assessment of the Southernmost Region of Thailand Using Atmospheric and Computational Fluid Dynamics Wind Flow Modeling

Jompob Waewsak, Chana Chancham, Somphol Chiwamongkhonkarn and Yves Gagnon
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Jompob Waewsak: Research Center in Energy and Environment, Division of Physics, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University (Phatthalung Campus), Songkhla 90000, Thailand
Chana Chancham: Research Center in Energy and Environment, Division of Physics, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University (Phatthalung Campus), Songkhla 90000, Thailand
Somphol Chiwamongkhonkarn: Research Center in Energy and Environment, Division of Physics, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University (Phatthalung Campus), Songkhla 90000, Thailand
Yves Gagnon: Department of Sciences, Université de Moncton, Edmundston, NB E3V 2S8, Canada

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: This paper presents the wind resource assessment of the southernmost region of Thailand using atmospheric and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) wind flow modeling. The predicted wind data by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric modeling, assimilated to a virtual met mast, along with high-resolution topographic and roughness digital data, are then used as the main input for the CFD microscale wind flow modeling and high resolution wind resource mapping at elevations of 80 m, 100 m, 120 m, and 140 m agl. Numerical results are validated using measured wind data. Results show that the potential area where the wind speeds at 120 m agl are above 8.0 m/s is 86 km 2 , corresponding to a technical power potential in the order of 300 MW. The installation of wind power plants in the areas with the best wind resource could generate 690 GWh/year of electricity, thus avoiding greenhouse gas emissions of 1.2 million tonnes CO 2eq /year to the atmosphere. On the other hand, developing power plants with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Class IV wind turbines in areas of lower wind resource, but with easier access, could generate nearly 3000 GWh/yr of energy, with a CO 2eq emissions avoidance of 5 million tonnes CO 2eq on a yearly basis.

Keywords: wind resource assessment; atmospheric modeling; wind power plant; technical power potential; GHG emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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