Offshore Wind Energy Mapping for Thailand using Coupled MC2/MS-Micro Modeling

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the offshore wind energy potential of the Gulf of Thailand using coupled MC2/MS-Micro modeling. A coupled mesoscale-microscale model is used, along with R1 NCEP/NCAR global reanalysis database, to generate a high resolution (200 m) wind resource map. Results show that interesting potential areas for offshore wind farm development have wind speeds of up to 6.5 m/s, especially in the upper part of the Gulf of Thailand, covering a surface of 2,112 km². With a total potential installed capacity of 5,000 MW, the annual energy production is estimated at 9.64 TWh/year.

Keywords: Atmospheric Modeling, Wind Resource Assessment, Wind Energy, Wind

Turbine Generator, Wind Power