Resource and Load Compatibility Assessment of Wind Energy Offshore of Humboldt County, California

Abstract

Floating offshore wind is being considered in northern California as indicated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s issuance of a lease consideration in the Humboldt Call Area. Humboldt County offers access to this enormous resource, but local electric load and transmission are limited. The potential impacts of offshore wind generators at three different scales were studied using a regional grid model of Humboldt County. Offshore wind generation was calculated using modeled wind speed data and 12-MW turbine specifications and integrated with projected load and historical generation. Offshore wind farms deployed in the Humboldt Call Area achieve annual capacity factors between 45% and 54% after losses and maintenance. Power output is variable between and within seasons, with full power output 30% of the time and no output approximately 20% of the time. Electricity from a 48-MW wind farm provides 22% of regional load with limited exports. A 144-MW wind farm serves 38% of local load, exporting 40% of its electricity with the extant 70-MW transmission capacity. A full build-out of 1836 MW would result in 88% curtailment with existing transmission. Across scenarios, offshore wind variability necessitates reliance on existing power plants to meet local demand in periods of low wind.

Managing the Volatility Risk of Renewable Energy: Index Insurance for Offshore Wind Farms in Taiwan

“…Most loss factor values are derived from industry standards. They are recorded either according to manufacturer-provided technical specifications or as indicated in the feasibility report of a given wind farm [37]. System losses, assumed to be constant throughout the 1-year insurance period, are estimates of a reduction in energy production.…”

Correlation between the Production of Electricity by Offshore Wind Farms and the Demand for Electricity in Polish Conditions

“…A number of works concern the analysis of OWF in a specific location. Pires et al [35] presents an analysis for the southern coast of Santa Catomina state in Brazil, Ortega et al [36] for northern California, Douville et al [37] for Oregon. The work of Bardenhage et al [38] concerns Japan, Al Hinai et al [39] analyze the case of Oman, and Roldan-Fernandez examines the impact of OWF on the energy market in Spain [40].…”

The Long-Term Impact of Wind Power Generation on a Local Community: Economics Analysis of Subjective Well-Being Data in Chōshi City

“…From the perspective of climate change and energy security, the rapid introduction of renewable energy is greatly expected. Countries around the world have been researching and introducing renewable energies that take advantage of local natural capital [1][2][3][4]. Despite the remarkable growth of photovoltaic energy via a feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme, the installed capacity of renewable energy has not been fully utilized in Japan.…”