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Title:
Global assessment of high-altitude wind power
Authors:
Archer, C. L.; Caldeira, K.
Affiliation:
AA(Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences California State University - Chico, Physical Science Building, Chico, CA 95929-0205, United States ; ), AB(Department of Global Ecology Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305, United States ; )
Publication:
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #A13G-04
Publication Date:
12/2008
Origin:
AGU
AGU Keywords:
3307 Boundary layer processes, 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions (1218, 1631, 1843), 3329 Mesoscale meteorology, 3355 Regional modeling, 3360 Remote sensing
Abstract Copyright:
(c) 2008: American Geophysical Union
Bibliographic Code:
2008AGUFM.A13G..04A

Abstract

Wind speed generally increases with altitude to the tropopause; hence, the power available in high-altitude winds is enormous, especially near the jet streams. We assess for the first time the available wind power resource worldwide at altitudes between 500 and 12,000 m. The highest wind power densities are found near 10,000 m over Japan and eastern China, the eastern coast of the United States, southern Australia, and north-eastern Africa. Below 1000 m, the best locations are the southern tip of South America, the coasts along the northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the central-eastern coast of Africa, and the north-eastern coast of South America. Because jet streams vary locally and seasonally, however, the high-altitude wind power resource is less steady than needed for baseload power. However, dynamically reaching the height with the highest winds, increasing the area covered with high-altitude devices, and using batteries for storage can effectively reduce intermittency. When high-altitude wind power devices are distributed uniformly throughout the entire atmosphere, numerical simulations show negligible effects on the global climate for low densities, but surface cooling, decreased precipitation, and greater sea ice cover for high densities.
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