Scientists are looking for reasons for such subtle changes. Investors and owners of wind farms are advised not to panic ahead of time - under some conditions, even a decrease in wind power will not harm the industry in any way.
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found that the speed of the wind that drives the turbines of land-based power plants has decreased significantly throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They made their conclusions by studying more than 1000 weather stations around the world. Almost 67% of them showed a decrease in wind potential compared to the 1979 level, writes GTM.
The effect was strongest in Asia, where 80% of stations showed a 30% reduction in capacity. Almost half of all locations in Europe showed a similar result. North America "suffered" least of all, where the wind became one third weakest at only 30% of weather stations.
Researchers are now looking for reasons for this change. It is quite possible that the reason for this is the change in land use and massive building up where there used to be fields and steppes that did not slow down the movement of air masses. They point out that these factors must be taken into account by all companies and states that plan to develop wind energy.
The second possible reason for a decrease in wind power is an increase in CO2 emissions. Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder stated this in their study. They also predict that, unlike in the Northern Hemisphere, winds will increase in the Southern Hemisphere.
However, wind farm owners need to turn a blind eye to such headlines, says Geoffrey Taunton-Collins, chief analyst at GCube. Such studies are often carried out with serious errors in methodology.
After all, if the wind behaved the same at any height, there would be no need to build meteorological masts for data collection.
In addition, a whole range of factors must be taken into account. Reducing wind speed under certain conditions can only increase the performance of the turbines. For example, if wind volatility rises. Finally, the decrease in its power can always be compensated for by the higher power of the turbine - and this process depends exclusively on the person.
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In autumn, Danish company Vestas unveiled the first 10 MW commercial wind turbine at the World Wind Summit in Hamburg, breaking its own record. The V164-10.0 turbine has a propeller with a diameter of 164 meters, each blade of which is 80 meters long. The height from the base to the top of such a giant is 187 m. Thus, the company once again confirmed its position in the wind turbine market, leaving behind its closest competitor - GE Renewable Energy. She, however, promises to install a demonstration turbine with a capacity of 12 MW next year.
Olga Gogoladze