Article,
Where, when and how much wind is available? A provincial-scale wind resource assessment for China
Energy Policy, (July 2014)
DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.07.003
Abstract
Highlights
• We assessed China׳s wind resources by utilizing 10 years of hourly wind speed data of 200 sites.
• We built provincial scale wind speed profiles and develop provincial capacity factors for China.
• We found that China׳s wind generation could reach 2000 TWh to 3500 TWh annually.
• We observed similar temporal variation pattern of wind availability across China.
Abstract
China׳s wind installed capacity has grown at a remarkable rate, over 80\% annually average growth since 2005, reaching 91.5 GW of capacity by end of 2013, accounting for over 27\% of global capacity. This rapid growth has been the result of a domestic manufacturing base and favorable national policies. Further evolution will be greatly aided with a detailed wind resource assessment that incorporates spatial and temporal variability across China. We utilized 200 representative locations for which 10 years of hourly wind speed data exist to develop provincial capacity factors from 2001 to 2010, and to build analytic wind speed profiles. From these data and analysis we find that China׳s annual wind generation could reach 2000 TWh to 3500 TWh. Nationally this would correspond to an average capacity factor of 0.18. The diurnal and seasonal variation shows spring and winter has better wind resources than in the summer and fall. While spatial variation demands highly interconnected and coordinated power system, similar temporal variation pattern would restrict the effectiveness of such a system. The full economic assessment of exploitable wind resources demands a larger, systems-level analysis of China׳s energy options for which this work is a core necessity.
