The Effect of Warming on Wind Speed and Potential Wind Power in Iceland

• Main Author: Smith, Alexei
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: SIT Digital Collections 2017
• Subjects: climate change; wind speed; wind power density; modeling; Iceland; Climate; Energy Policy; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies; Place and Environment; Sustainability; Arctic; Climate change
• Online Access: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2748; https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3774&context=isp_collection

Climate change is causing a shift in the temperature and pressure gradient between the Arctic and the Equator, with the Arctic warming at a faster rate than the Equator. This shift has the potential to alter the seasonal wind speeds in the Northern Hemisphere, which could in turn affect the wind power density potential. In this study, a wind model was created to predict future wind speeds and wind power density for 6 weather stations in Iceland. According to the model, winter wind speeds and wind power density potential will either stay the same or increase slightly (0 – 4%), while summer wind speeds and wind power density potential will decrease by 2 – 5% and 10 – 14%, respectively. These results agree closely with existing literature. The increase in winter power density could provide a complement to existing hydropower infrastructure, while the eventual decrease in summer power density implores that investment in wind power happens sooner rather than later for optimal efficiency.