Today, someone shared with me the latest market statistics
of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). It shows continued expansion
of the wind energy market. In 2012, wind energy capacity globally
reached 282,000 MW (i.e. 19% growth). But, the GWEC does not talk about
the intensity of geospatial tech uptake in harnessing full potential of
wind power.
Nevertheless, India’s cumulative wind
capacity is now 18,421 MW, which was 16,084 MW in 2011 (i.e. 14.5%
growth). Some of the highlights of the global annual market update
include:
- Mexico has almost doubled its
installed capacity, installing 801 MW for a total of 1,370 MW joining
the list of countries (now 24) with more than 1,000 MW of wind power
capacity.
- European markets, led by Germany and the UK, with surprising contributions from ‘emerging markets’ in Sweden, Romania, Italy and Poland, accounted for 12.4 GW last year, a new record.
- Both the Chinese and Indian markets slowed in 2012, but their annual installations still touched 13.2 and 2.3 GW respectively.
- Brazil led the Latin America market with 1,077 MW, to bring its total installed capacity to just over 2,500 MW, and Australia accounted for all of the new installations in the Pacific region, with 358 MW of new capacity in 2012 for a cumulative total of 2,584 MW.
- European markets, led by Germany and the UK, with surprising contributions from ‘emerging markets’ in Sweden, Romania, Italy and Poland, accounted for 12.4 GW last year, a new record.
- Both the Chinese and Indian markets slowed in 2012, but their annual installations still touched 13.2 and 2.3 GW respectively.
- Brazil led the Latin America market with 1,077 MW, to bring its total installed capacity to just over 2,500 MW, and Australia accounted for all of the new installations in the Pacific region, with 358 MW of new capacity in 2012 for a cumulative total of 2,584 MW.
This GWEC statistics reminded me an
exclusive interview with the first Dutchman in space and a former
astronaut of the European Space Agency, Dr Wubbo J Ockels, published in Geospatial World - November 2012,
wherein Dr Ockels stated that the use of fossil fuels should be stopped
immediately because it harms the environment. In case of nuclear power,
he observed that one can't calculate the consequences of nuclear waste
because nuclear energy has unknown cost and one cannot compare it with
anything that has a known cost.
Dr Ockels opined, "We have to develop a society free of waste. The best way to do this is to pay only for services while the ownership remains with the resources. This is where geospatial technology is extremely essential as it can help us to know the exact location of a resource so we can effectively harness it."
Dr Ockels opined, "We have to develop a society free of waste. The best way to do this is to pay only for services while the ownership remains with the resources. This is where geospatial technology is extremely essential as it can help us to know the exact location of a resource so we can effectively harness it."
Dr Ockels is currently involved in the
production of energy from a ‘laddermill’ — a windmill consisting of a
“ladder” of kites. From his aforementioned words, I understand that
‘windmill’ is one of the energy sources, which helps make society free
of waste, and hence he preferred to associate himself with it. In
addition, I learnt that geospatial is going to play a turnkey role in
the expansion of wind energy market. A recent market report by Pike Research
boosted my belief. The report observed that the energy sector is now
more reliant on geospatial technology. Nearly 27,000 off-grid remote
sensing power systems using renewable or alternative energy would be
deployed annually by 2020. The report further stated that remote sensing
systems, including light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and supervisory
control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems for the oil and gas
industry, as well as remote monitoring using telemetry for
environmental applications, represent a growing market for off-grid
power.
I researched more and tried to
understand how good is geospatial tech uptake amongst wind energy
producers/stakeholders. And, I came across a news that Second Wind, a
developer/manufacturer of remote sensing equipment for the wind energy
industry, and Pentalum Technologies, the developers of a new generation
of cost-effective LiDAR wind measurement systems, forged a partnership
in January 2013
to promote the use of remote sensing for the wind energy industry.
Second Wind will work with Pentalum Technologies to sell and support the
Pentalum SpiDAR wind measurement LiDAR system.
In the wake of positive wind energy
market report, DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, a global authority
in business and technical consultancy along the energy value-chain, also
came up with a common framework for the wind industry for discussing both energy losses and uncertainties around energy assessments.
According to the framework, a typical
wind resource and energy yield assessment derives gross generation
from a site’s wind speed frequency distribution and a turbine’s power
curve. Technical loss factors are then applied to derive expected net
energy generation. Example loss factors include equipment availability,
wake losses, icing losses, and electrical line losses. An uncertainty
analysis is then conducted to determine the probability distribution of
net energy production. Example uncertainty categories include those
associated with wind speed measurement, wind shear extrapolation,
modelling, and loss assumptions. However, without standard definitions
for such loss factors and uncertainty categories, it is difficult to
compare studies prepared by different consultants. Standardised
definitions will not only facilitate direct comparison of energy
estimates among different consulting studies, it will lead to more
productive dialog and ultimately improved understanding of technical
losses and uncertainties.
(This blog was first published on GeospatialWorld.net )
