Effects of global warming on wind energy availability
The use of wind energy reduces our greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. In this study, we proposed a generic power-law relationship between global warming and the usable wind energy (Betz’s law). The power law index (~4, region dependent) is then determined using simulated atmospheric param...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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American Institute of Physics
2010
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| Online Access: | http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jrse/2/5/10.1063/1.3486072 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30368 |
| _version_ | 1848753069412581376 |
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| author | Ren, Diandong |
| author_facet | Ren, Diandong |
| author_sort | Ren, Diandong |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The use of wind energy reduces our greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. In this study, we proposed a generic power-law relationship between global warming and the usable wind energy (Betz’s law). The power law index (~4, region dependent) is then determined using simulated atmospheric parameters from eight global coupled ocean-atmosphere climate models (CGCMs). It is found that the power-law relationship holds across all eight climate models and also is time scale independent. Reduction of wind power scales with the degree of warming according to a generic power-law relationship. Thus, the earlier we switch to clean energy, and thereby decrease the global climate warming trend, the more cost-effective will be the harnessing of wind energy. This relationship is an area-averaged consequence of the reduced poleward temperature gradient as the climate warms during the 21st Century; it does not imply spatial uniformity over a region of interest. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:18:39Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-30368 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:18:39Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | American Institute of Physics |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-303682017-02-28T01:51:19Z Effects of global warming on wind energy availability Ren, Diandong The use of wind energy reduces our greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. In this study, we proposed a generic power-law relationship between global warming and the usable wind energy (Betz’s law). The power law index (~4, region dependent) is then determined using simulated atmospheric parameters from eight global coupled ocean-atmosphere climate models (CGCMs). It is found that the power-law relationship holds across all eight climate models and also is time scale independent. Reduction of wind power scales with the degree of warming according to a generic power-law relationship. Thus, the earlier we switch to clean energy, and thereby decrease the global climate warming trend, the more cost-effective will be the harnessing of wind energy. This relationship is an area-averaged consequence of the reduced poleward temperature gradient as the climate warms during the 21st Century; it does not imply spatial uniformity over a region of interest. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30368 http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jrse/2/5/10.1063/1.3486072 American Institute of Physics restricted |
| spellingShingle | Ren, Diandong Effects of global warming on wind energy availability |
| title | Effects of global warming on wind energy availability |
| title_full | Effects of global warming on wind energy availability |
| title_fullStr | Effects of global warming on wind energy availability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of global warming on wind energy availability |
| title_short | Effects of global warming on wind energy availability |
| title_sort | effects of global warming on wind energy availability |
| url | http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jrse/2/5/10.1063/1.3486072 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30368 |