Along with the rapid development of green energy, climate research has become increasingly popular, in order to facilitate selection of green power sites and grid optimization by utilities.
A research team at the Earth Institute of Columbia University has looked into the data on climate change and green-power output in the U.S. over the past 50-70 years, in order to ascertain their correlation. David Farnham, a member scientist, cited the long-term effect of climate change on sunshine and wind volumes, , such as El Nino, whose influence could last one to 10 years.
The team discovered wide fluctuation in green-power output, based on year-on-year or 10-year comparisons. Farnham pointed to a wind farm whose power output will meet 61-98% of local power need within the coming 10 years before rising to 129-200% afterwards.
The wild change is credited to a number of long-term El Nino-related phenomena, including Southern oscillation, North Atlantic oscillation, and Pacific 10-year oscillation, which could affect not only wind- and PV-power outputs but also people's power needs, such as that of air conditioning.
The employment of smart planning and interconnected systems can slash the effect of climate change on grids, facilitating grid management by utilities.
Farnham stressed that given increasingly prominent role of green power in the U.S., analysis and research on climate change will be more and more important, which can facilitate site selection, financing, and project planning by green-power developers.
Research finds drop in wind power in Northern Hemisphere
A joint study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Purdue University of the U.S. finds universal drop in wind power in the Northern Hemisphere since 1979, with wind-power loss by wind farms in North America, Europe, and Asia reaching 30%, 50%, and 80%, respectively. Tian Chun, a student for doctorate degree at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS, pointed out that based on change in wind speed and other data from surface observation of the Northern Hemisphere and the global climate model (GCM), the team finds that weakening of wind power is a global phenomenon.
However, the team also pointed out that further research and observation is needed, in order to make precise wind-volume forecast, as the GCM cannot calculate long-term change and trend for wind energy.
(First photo courtesy of Janusz Sobolewski via Flickr CC BY 2.0, written by Daisy Chuang)