A positive trend in the stability of global offshore wind energy
Abstract
The recognition on the trend of wind energy stability is still extremely rare, although it is closely related to acquisition efficiency, grid connection, equipment lifetime, and costs of wind energy utilization. Using the 40-year (1979-2018) ERA-Interim data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, this study presented the spatial-temporal distribution and climatic trend of the stability of global offshore wind energy as well as the abrupt phenomenon of wind energy stability in key regions over the past 40 years with the climatic analysis method and Mann-Kendall (M-K) test. The results show the following 5 points. (1) According to the coefficient of variation (Cv) of the wind power density, there are six permanent stable zones of global offshore wind energy: the southeast and northeast trade wind zones in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Southern Hemisphere westerly, and a semi-permanent stable zone (North Indian Ocean). (2) There are six low-value zones for both seasonal variability index (Sv) and monthly variability index (Mv) globally, with a similar spatial distribution as that of the six permanent stable zones. Mv and Sv in the Arabian Sea are the highest in the world. (3) After Cv, Mv and Sv are comprehensively considered, the six permanent stable zones have an obvious advantage in the stability of wind energy over other sea areas, with Cv below 0.8, Mv within 1.0, and Sv within 0.7 all the year round. (4) The global stability of offshore wind energy shows a positive climatic trend for the past four decades. Cv, Mv and Sv have not changed significantly or decreased in most of the global ocean during 1979 to 2018. That is, wind energy is flat or more stable, while the monthly and seasonal variabilities tend to shrink/smooth, which is beneficial for wind energy utilization. (5) Cv in the low-latitude Pacific and Mv and Sv in both the North Indian Ocean and the low-latitude Pacific have an obvious abrupt phenomenon at the end of the 20th century.
- Publication:
-
Acta Oceanologica Sinica
- Pub Date:
- May 2024
- DOI:
- 10.1007/s13131-024-2345-4
- Bibcode:
- 2024AcOSn..43.a123Z
- Keywords:
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- global oceans;
- wind energy;
- stability;
- spatial-temporal distribution;
- climatic trend