Resource and Load Compatibility Assessment of Wind Energy Offshore of Humboldt County, California

Floating offshore wind is being considered in northern California as indicated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s issuance of a lease consideration in the Humboldt Call Area. Humboldt County offers access to this enormous resource, but local electric load and transmission are limited. The po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energies (Basel) 2020-11, Vol.13 (21), p.5707
Main Authors: Ortega, Christina, Younes, Amin, Severy, Mark, Chamberlin, Charles, Jacobson, Arne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capital costs
Electric power generation
electrical grid related research
Electrical loads
Electricity
Electricity generation
Energy
Energy management
Exports
floating platform
generation
Generators
Infrastructure
load
losses
Natural gas
Offshore
Offshore energy sources
Offshore operations
offshore wind
power model
Power plants
renewable energy
transmission
turbine
Turbines
WIND ENERGY
Wind farms
Wind power
Wind speed
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Summary:Floating offshore wind is being considered in northern California as indicated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s issuance of a lease consideration in the Humboldt Call Area. Humboldt County offers access to this enormous resource, but local electric load and transmission are limited. The potential impacts of offshore wind generators at three different scales were studied using a regional grid model of Humboldt County. Offshore wind generation was calculated using modeled wind speed data and 12-MW turbine specifications and integrated with projected load and historical generation. Offshore wind farms deployed in the Humboldt Call Area achieve annual capacity factors between 45% and 54% after losses and maintenance. Power output is variable between and within seasons, with full power output 30% of the time and no output approximately 20% of the time. Electricity from a 48-MW wind farm provides 22% of regional load with limited exports. A 144-MW wind farm serves 38% of local load, exporting 40% of its electricity with the extant 70-MW transmission capacity. A full build-out of 1836 MW would result in 88% curtailment with existing transmission. Across scenarios, offshore wind variability necessitates reliance on existing power plants to meet local demand in periods of low wind.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en13215707