Wind resource assessment in the northern gulf of Thailand using atmoshperic modeling and climatic database

Abstract

An assessment of the wind energy potential is an important process in the development of wind power projects. An accurate and precise assessment requires long term wind data, recorded over at least one year by installing a standard met mast, which consumes most of the costs in the early stages of development. Therefore, this research aims to assess the wind resource in the northern part of the Gulf of Thailand, by using the Mesoscale Compressible Community (MC2) atmospheric model and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) climatic database, in order to investigate the mean speed and the technical power potential (TPP). Moreover, the comparison has been made using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric modeling along with MERRA climatic database. Results show that the annual mean speed is in the range of 2.3 to 7.5 m/s and the technical power potential, over an area of 1,500 km2, is in the range of 2,500 MW. The comparison of the results, in terms of the measured/predicted ratio (M/P) and the percent mean relative error (PMRE), is in the range of 0.70 to 0.96, and 4 to 42 %, respectively. Regional outcomes from this study can be applied to develop offshore wind power projects in Thailand.