Techno-economic assessment of potential zones for offshore wind energy: A methodology

Climate change and wind energy potential in South America

Wind energy is crucial in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and combating global warming. However, the economic viability of wind energy projects is tied to wind resources, which may be affected by climate change. The objective of this work is to investigate the evolution of wind energy resources in South America using the most up-to-date climate-change scenarios: the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. Three scenarios are considered, corresponding to low, medium and high emissions pathways. A multi-model ensemble is constructed with Global Climate Models selected for their accuracy in the study region in a historical period. Results indicate that east of the Andes, in Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela, substantial increases in average wind power density are expected, surpassing 100 % in certain areas and in the most pessimistic scenario (the fossil-fuelled development pathway). By contrast, significant reductions (up to ~50 %) are projected for certain areas west of the Andes: South Chile, Peru and the waters off West Colombia. South Chile has the windiest climate in the continent, which makes this reduction due to climate change all the more important. Even under the low-emissions scenario, the projected evolution in wind resources is relevant, which highlights the necessity of considering climate change in wind energy planning.

Hybrid wind-solar energy resources mapping in the European Atlantic

The complementarity of offshore wind and solar resources can enhance the energy output of a hybrid farm and reduce its variability relative to a stand-alone, conventional offshore wind farm. In this work offshore wind and solar resources are characterised and mapped in a large study area covering the European Atlantic, the North and Baltic Seas, and the Canary Islands. The intra-annual and overall variabilities of wind power density and solar irradiance are investigated, and their complementarity is evaluated on the basis of their correlation. Negatively correlated regions include the seas around Ireland and Great Britain, with vast wind resources (mean wind power density ~1500 Wm-2 off W Ireland) and comparatively limited solar resources (mean solar irradiance ~100 Wm-2). Positively correlated regions include notably the Canary Islands, with the highest values of solar irradiance in the study area (mean values of ~280 Wm-2). Two study sites are chosen for more detailed investigation - one with a negative correlation, off W Ireland; the other with a positive correlation, off the Canary Islands. Even in the positively correlated regions, it is found that the correlation coefficient is never large (always under 0.2), which signals an opportunity for reducing power output variability through hybrid or co-located wind-solar farms. This, along with the other advantages of hybrid or co-located wind-solar farms (optimised use of scarce marine space, shared electrical infrastructure, shared O&M crews and vessels, etc.), attests to their potential in the European Atlantic. This potential could be realised through new hybrid or co-located wind-solar farms, or by retrofitting floating solar PV into existing offshore wind farms.