Title
High-resolution large-scale onshore wind energy assessments: A review of potential definitions, methodologies and future research needs
Author
McKenna, Russell (University of Aberdeen; ETH Zürich)
Pfenninger, Stefan (TU Delft Energie and Industrie; ETH Zürich) 
Heinrichs, Heidi (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH)
Schmidt, Johannes (BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences)
Staffell, Iain (Imperial College London)
Bauer, Christian (Paul Scherrer Institut)
Gruber, Katharina (BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences)
Hahmann, Andrea N. (Technical University of Denmark)
Jansen, Malte (Imperial College London)
Klingler, Michael (BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences)
Landwehr, Natascha (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH)
Larsén, Xiaoli Guo (Technical University of Denmark)
Lilliestam, Johan (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies)
Pickering, Bryn (ETH Zürich)
Robinius, Martin (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH)
Tröndle, Tim (ETH Zürich; Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies)
Turkovska, Olga (BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences)
Wehrle, Sebastian (BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences)
Weinand, Jann Michael (Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie)
Wohland, Jan (ETH Zürich)
Date
2022
Abstract
The rapid uptake of renewable energy technologies in recent decades has increased the demand of energy researchers, policymakers and energy planners for reliable data on the spatial distribution of their costs and potentials. For onshore wind energy this has resulted in an active research field devoted to analysing these resources for regions, countries or globally. A particular thread of this research attempts to go beyond purely technical or spatial restrictions and determine the realistic, feasible or actual potential for wind energy. Motivated by these developments, this paper reviews methods and assumptions for analysing geographical, technical, economic and, finally, feasible onshore wind potentials. We address each of these potentials in turn, including aspects related to land eligibility criteria, energy meteorology, and technical developments of wind turbine characteristics such as power density, specific rotor power and spacing aspects. Economic aspects of potential assessments are central to future deployment and are discussed on a turbine and system level covering levelized costs depending on locations, and the system integration costs which are often overlooked in such analyses. Non-technical approaches include scenicness assessments of the landscape, constraints due to regulation or public opposition, expert and stakeholder workshops, willingness to pay/accept elicitations and socioeconomic cost-benefit studies. For each of these different potential estimations, the state of the art is critically discussed, with an attempt to derive best practice recommendations and highlight avenues for future research.
Subject
Onshore wind
Planning constraints
Research priorities
Resource assessments
Social acceptance
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:a015c615-9fc6-4096-97fe-96018c32b899
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.10.027
ISSN
0960-1481
Source
Renewable Energy, 182, 659-684
Part of collection
Institutional Repository
Document type
review
Rights
© 2022 Russell McKenna, Stefan Pfenninger, Heidi Heinrichs, Johannes Schmidt, Iain Staffell, Christian Bauer, Katharina Gruber, Andrea N. Hahmann, Malte Jansen, Michael Klingler, Natascha Landwehr, Xiaoli Guo Larsén, Johan Lilliestam, Bryn Pickering, Martin Robinius, Tim Tröndle, Olga Turkovska, Sebastian Wehrle, Jann Michael Weinand, Jan Wohland