Offshore wind can power Canada

Abstract

As a maritime nation, Canada is the home to high-quality offshore wind resources. The assessment of Canada's offshore wind resources has a strategic significance for realizing its low-carbon future. This study focused on high-resolution and high-accuracy estimates of offshore wind resources over Canada using satellite-derived wind maps, e.g., CCMP (Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform) images from 1988 to 2017. The CCMP derived wind speed and density were bias-corrected by ocean surface wind measurements collected from 63 stations located along the seas/lakes in Canada from 1987 to 2018. A series of consistent offshore wind resource maps were produced and analyzed. The results generated from CCMP were then compared with previous assessment (i.e., Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)'s Wind Atlas) and proved to perform better in simulating wind speeds. We estimated the technically available offshore wind area, gross power capacity and gross potential over Canada. For example, a gross potential production of 20.348, 20.441, and 20.376 PWh/year were calculated using three commercial offshore wind turbines, i.e. GE 3.6s, REpower 5 M, and V164–8.0 over the calculated total gross offshore area of 1.053 million km2. It far exceeds the Canada's electricity consumption (i.e., 0.641 PWh) in 2018. In addition, most of the potential power productions are distributed in the Canadian Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Hudson Bay and St Lawrence, with the mean wind speeds increasing from 1988 to 2017. This study can help to assess offshore wind resources and provide decision-makers with some scientific evidences for developing offshore wind in Canada.