Wind power assessment in the Caribbean region of Colombia, using ten-minute wind observations and ERA5 data

Abstract

The Caribbean region of Colombia is a strategic source of wind energy for Colombia’s economic development. However, current estimates of wind energy potential for this region are based on low-resolution observations from a sparse set of weather stations that falls short of the temporal and spatial scales required by the wind energy sector. We present a novel characterization of the wind resource over the Colombian Caribbean, using 10-min average wind records from 13 meteorological stations and comparing the results with newer ERA5 reanalysis data to generate reliable information for the feasibility and operational stages of wind farms. According to the 10-min observations, average wind speeds in the region are in a 2.2 m s−1 to 8.3 m s− 1 range. Based on Weibull distributions and hourly Wind Power Density (WPD) calculations, we found several locations that offer commercial wind potential, with many having WPD above 800 W m−2. Furthermore, our estimates based on ERA5 show a wide offshore region in the Caribbean with a WPD over 800 W m−2 yearlong. Finally, we calculate the Annual Energy Production (AEP) for the stations with promising potential, obtaining capacity factors around 50%, comparable to those of the most productive wind farms worldwide.