NASA maps potential ocean areas for “green” wind power

William Atkins
Saturday, 12 July 2008 22:13

Science - Energy

According to the NASA article (“Ocean wind power maps reveal possible wind energy sources“), “Wind energy has the potential to provide 10 to 15 percent of future world energy requirements, according to Paul Dimotakis, chief technologist at JPL. If ocean areas with high winds were tapped for wind energy, they could potentially generate 500 to 800 watts of energy per square meter, according to Liu's research. Dimotakis notes that while this is slightly less than solar energy (which generates about one kilowatt of energy per square meter), wind power can be converted to electricity more efficiently than solar energy and at a lower cost per watt of electricity produced.”

The article continues to state, “According to Liu, new technology has made floating wind farms in the open ocean possible. A number of wind farms are already in operation worldwide. Ocean wind farms have less environmental impact than onshore wind farms, whose noise tends to disturb sensitive wildlife in their immediate area. Also, winds are generally stronger over the ocean than on land because there is less friction over water to slow the winds down - there are no hills or mountains to block the wind's path.”

And, “Ideally, offshore wind farms should be located in areas where winds blow continuously at high speeds. The new research identifies such areas and offers explanations for the physical mechanisms that produce the high winds.”

The research so far has concluded that one area of high-wind potential is found off the coast of Northern California—near Cape Mendocino. The area contains a protruding land mass that deflects northerly winds, producing a local wind jet that blows all year long.

Other areas of potentially high-wind producing areas, identified by the QuikSCAT data, include westerly winds blowing around Tasmania, New Zealand, and Tierra del Fuego in South America.

Generally, areas with high wind power potential are found in the mid-latitude regions of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

For additional information on QuikSCAT, please go to the Jet Propulsion Lab website “SeaWinds on QuikSCAT.”