The potential wind power resource in Australia: a new perspective

Area of Science:

• Renewable Energy
• Atmospheric Science
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Australia's wind power capacity grew 35% (2006-2011) and is projected to exceed 12% of electricity generation by 2030.
• Increasing wind power utilization necessitates analysis of resource abundance, variability, and intermittency.

Purpose of the Study:

• Analyze Australia's wind resource characteristics (abundance, variability, intermittency) across different turbine hub heights.
• Assess the potential of geographically dispersed wind farm aggregation to mitigate wind power intermittency.
• Evaluate the impact of these factors on wind power economic viability.

Main Methods:

• Utilized robust metrics to analyze wind power density, variability, and intermittency.
• Examined variations with current and potential wind turbine hub heights.
• Assessed mitigation of intermittency through aggregation of geographically dispersed wind farms.

Main Results:

• High wind intermittency in much of Australia often coincides with areas where aggregation does not mitigate variability.
• Remote, grid-disconnected areas with high intermittency pose economic challenges for wind farms.
• The eastern seaboard shows weaker but less variable wind, closer to populations, with greater aggregation potential.

Conclusions:

• Wind resource characteristics and geographical factors significantly influence the economic viability of wind power in Australia.
• Aggregation can mitigate intermittency, particularly on the eastern seaboard, but remote areas present challenges.
• This study provides a foundation for analyzing large-scale atmospheric influences on mesoscale wind resources.