Mesoscale Simulation of Year-to-Year Variation of Wind Power Potential over Southern China

The objectives of this study are to combine historical observations and state-of-the-art numerical models (MM5/CALMET system) to map the spatial distribution of wind resources in high resolution, and to help foster a deeper understanding of the wind power potential over southern China (Guangdong). Hourly wind fields were simulated for three entire years (2004-2006). It found that almost 70% of the time, the wind speed along the coast of Guangdong is over 5 m/s, which is deemed a baseline magnitude for typical wind turbines. Spatial plots of the wind speed and power and their variations over Guangdong Province for the three years are also presented.