There
is a lot of information available about the countries that have the
highest installed capacity with wind power and how these countries
increase their capacity every year. Think of countries like China, the
United States, Germany, India or Spain. Information on countries with
installed wind turbines capacity is available to the public, is very
numerous and is not really necessary to mention. What is much more
interesting is to discover which countries have high wind energy
potential but little or no installed wind farm capacity. Shouldn’t these
countries be the next places where the energy industry focuses its
attention on the development of wind farm projects?
Russia
has the largest global wind potential untapped. Putin doesn’t take it
seriously and unfortunately he doesn’t know anything about the matter.
Here
we analyze six countries that could be very suitable for wind energy,
especially in terms of wind speed and wind energy density. This is not a
list of countries, but rather a selection of countries that future wind
energy investors and promoters could overlook. Most of the information
on wind speed and wind energy density was collected using the Global
Wind Atlas (GWA). The most recent version of this atlas was recently
made available by the World Bank together with the Technical University
of Denmark (DTU). This is an impressive wind atlas based on the 1km
scale wind climate and GIS data. The free web-based GIS atlas was
launched in November at the Wind Europe Conference in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands.
Russia
With its 17 million square
kilometers of surface and its 38,000 kilometers long coastline, Russia
has the highest wind energy potential in terms of TWh / year on this
list and one of the highest in the world. Despite its size and potential
for wind resources, the country only has an estimated installed wind
power capacity of 11 to 16 MW. Being the largest country on Earth,
Russia’s technically feasible wind power potential is estimated at 6 TWh
/ year. However, it has a gross theoretical resource of wind energy of
80,000 TWh / year. The wind power density of the country is estimated at
721 W / m2 with an average wind speed of 8.4 m / s at 100 m in the
windiest areas of 10%.
Large investments are required to take
advantage of Russia’s wind resources with several auctions and licenses
in the GW range prepared by the federal government. Recently, Dutch
Lagerwey and OTEK (RosAtom) have also signed agreements to license Dutch
wind turbines to OTEK.
Oman
Oman could be one of
the most interesting options since it has an estimated wind energy
density of 684 W / m2 and an average wind speed of 8.3 m / s at a height
of 100 m in the windiest areas of the 10 %. This is quite comparable to
the rich wind resources of several countries in northern Europe. By way
of comparison, the Netherlands has a power density of 518 W / m2 and a
wind speed of 7.7 m / s in the windiest areas of 10% at 100 m.
The
wind resources in Oman are remarkably exceptional in the southern
governorate of Dhofar (its capital, Salalah) and also in the
governorship of Al Wusta. There is only one wind farm installed by GE
and TSK of Spain.
Somalia
Somalia is very close to
Oman. Both countries are located in the Arabian Sea in the northwestern
region of the Indian Ocean. This is where the movement of the
intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) causes strong changes in the wind
direction and produces wonderful conditions for high wind speeds.
Somalia
is generally not associated with wind power or any form of renewable
energy for that matter. The country is usually in the news because of
its problems due to civil wars, piracy and economic instability.
However, few people know that Somalia has one of the highest combined
wind power and solar energy potentials on the planet. The city of Garowe
in Punland has been fed since 2016 by a 3.5 MW hybrid wind and solar
power plant that recently increased to 5.9 MW to provide its 50,000
inhabitants with more than 90% of its electricity demands. Somalia’s
power density is estimated at 849 W / m2 and 9.0 m / s at 100 m for
areas with 10% wind. This is not far from the estimated UK average of
928 W / m2 and 9.4 m / s.
Iceland
Iceland’s
electricity supply is 100% renewable energy, thanks to geothermal and
hydraulic. Therefore, the country does not need to use the wind to
supply its demand. This is ironic since Iceland’s wind speed is
estimated at 11 m / s at 100 m in the windiest areas of 10% with a
corresponding power density of 1,942 W / m2.
The
four wind turbines built with their installed capacity of 3 MW in
Iceland mainly serve to test wind turbines in extreme conditions.
However, Iceland could consider wind power for the electricity trade if a
future submarine interconnector connects the country with the United
Kingdom. Another reason to consider wind power would be a future
increase in the levelized energy cost (LCOE) for the supply of
geothermal and hydroelectric power.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
is looking to increase investments in renewable energy in part because
of its constantly growing economy. The greatest potential for wind
energy is in the Caspian Sea region, including other areas in the
central and northern parts of the country.
The
vast open landscape of steppe gives Kazakhstan some exceptional areas
to exploit wind energy. The country has an estimated average wind speed
of 8.0 m / s at 100 meters and a power density of 583 W / m2 in areas
with 10% wind. Wind power developments are underway with Vestas recently
securing an order for wind turbines with CAPEC Green Energy and China
Goldwind.
Vietnam
Vietnam has the highest installed wind
farm capacity on this list, estimated at 140-180 MW. The country
deserves to be mentioned due to its 3,200 km coastline with excellent
conditions for offshore wind power and onshore.
According
to the Global Wind Atlas, Vietnam’s average wind speed at 100 m is
estimated at 7.8 m / s with a power density of 615 W / m2 for areas with
more wind of 10%. The current installed wind power capacity is still
less than 0.4% of Vietnam’s electricity generation. This is one of the
reasons why developments are being carried out to exploit the country’s
estimated wind power technical potential of 24-28 GW.
Vietnam’s
strong economic growth has been a key factor behind the recent increase
in renewable energy projects. This development is attracting the
formation of large wind energy alliances and is slowly leading the
country towards its goal of becoming a regional clean energy leader.
Other critical points of wind resources
All
the countries mentioned in our list have an installed wind power
capacity of less than 200 MW. However, recent developments indicate that
some of these countries will witness a substantial increase in wind
power capacity. Countries around the world are looking for opportunities
to join forces with international developers, manufacturers and
investors to make the transition to renewable energy as smooth as
possible.
Several other countries with unexplored but high
potential wind resources were not mentioned, but could have deserved a
place on our list. Countries like Chad, Mongolia and Venezuela are some
notable mentions. Some countries have specific parts that are
exceptionally windy such as western Afghanistan, eastern Azerbaijan or
northern Kenya or Colombia. There are also regions that form critical
zones of wind resources such as the Caspian Sea, the Arabian Sea, parts
of Central America or the northern latitude zones.
Obviously,
there are many other factors that are important for wind energy projects
worldwide, in addition to wind speed and power density. The information
was obtained from Global Wind Atlas 2.0, a free web-based application
developed, owned and operated by the Technical University of Denmark
(DTU) in partnership with the World Bank Group, using data provided by
Vortex, with funds provided by Energy Sector Management Assistance
Program (ESMAP). For future information: https://globalwindatlas.info/
