Wind turbines to tackle energy demand for those cold, cold days
In Great Britain, cold winter days are usually less windy than warmer days. However, the colder it is outside, the higher the energy demand for heating is, which led researchers to wonder whether wind turbines are able to tackle the challenge.
According to a study by the Imperial College London, there is a way for wind turbines to meet the demands for those cold winter days. The researchers observed wind patterns during winter and found that during cold days, wind turbine output fell by a third amidst the rising demand for energy. They also found that during the highest 5% of energy demand days, wind power was above average for a third of them.
The coldest days had strong easterly winds, which meant greater wind power to offset the energy demand, according to Tree Hugger. The study concluded that wind power can face the challenge imposed by high energy demand cold winter days, if wind power was distributed to take advantage of higher winds when and where they occur.
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“The very coldest days are associated with a mix of different weather patterns, some of which produce high winds in parts of Great Britain,” said Hazel Thornton, of the Met Office Hadley Centre, one of the paper’s authors. “For example, very high pressure over Scandinavia and lower pressure over Southern Europe blows cold continental air from the east over Great Britain, giving high demand, but also high wind power. In contrast, winds blowing from the north, such as happened during December 2010, typically give very high demand but lower wind power supply.”
If wind farms are spread throughout Great Britain, the varied wind patterns can be taken advantage of, because the places where wind speeds are high will compensate for the places where wind speeds are low. Despite the study is relevant for Great Britain, it could be advantageous to any country that struggles with meeting higher energy demands in winter.
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