Suchergebnisse

Wind energy is crucial in German energy and climate strategies as it substitutes carbon-intensive fossil fuels and achieves substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. However, wind energy deployment currently faces several problems: low expansion rates, wind turbines at the end of their service life, or the end of remuneration. Repowering is a vital strategy to overcome these problems. This study investigates future annual GHG payback times and emission savings of repowered wind turbines. In total, 96 repowering scenarios covering a broad range of climatological, technical, economic, and political factors affecting wind energy output in 2025–2049 were studied. The results indicate that due to more giant wind turbines and geographical restrictions, the amount of repowerable sites is reduced significantly. Consequently, in most scenarios, emission savings will dramatically diminish compared to current savings. Even in the best-case scenario, the highest emission savings' growth is at 11%. The most meaningful drivers of GHG payback time and emission savings are wind turbine type, geographical restrictions, and GHG emissions. In contrast, climate change impact on the wind resource is only marginal. Although repowering alone is insufficient for achieving climate targets, it is a substantial part of the wind energy strategy. It could be improved by the synergies of different measures presented in this study. The results emphasize that a massive expansion of wind energy is required to establish it as a cornerstone of the future energy mix.

Wind energy is crucial in German energy and climate strategies as it substitutes carbon-intensive fossil fuels and achieves substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. However, wind energy deployment currently faces several problems: low expansion rates, wind turbines at the end of their service life, or the end of remuneration. Repowering is a vital strategy to overcome these problems. This study investigates future annual GHG payback times and emission savings of repowered wind turbines. In total, 96 repowering scenarios covering a broad range of climatological, technical, economic, and political factors affecting wind energy output in 2025–2049 were studied. The results indicate that due to more giant wind turbines and geographical restrictions, the amount of repowerable sites is reduced significantly. Consequently, in most scenarios, emission savings will dramatically diminish compared to current savings. Even in the best-case scenario, the highest emission savings' growth is at 11%. The most meaningful drivers of GHG payback time and emission savings are wind turbine type, geographical restrictions, and GHG emissions. In contrast, climate change impact on the wind resource is only marginal. Although repowering alone is insufficient for achieving climate targets, it is a substantial part of the wind energy strategy. It could be improved by the synergies of different measures presented in this study. The results emphasize that a massive expansion of wind energy is required to establish it as a cornerstone of the future energy mix.

Wind energy in Germany has experienced high growth rates over the last few years. The set political target in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is to raise the share of wind energy in the overall electricity supply to 10% by 2020. To achieve this goal, detailed information on wind energy potential in Baden-Wuerttemberg is necessary. This study assesses the geographical wind energy potential (GP) in Baden-Wuerttemberg giving a guideline to identify suitable locations for wind energy utilization. The focus of this investigation lies in assessing GP for the mean annual meteorological wind energy potential (MP) as well as for the mean MP in December and August providing information on the seasonal behavior of wind power availability. A GIS-based approach is employed to identify sites without geographical restrictions and with sufficient MP at hub heights of 100 m, 140 m, and 200 m. The study finds that (1) the number of possible sites for wind energy utilization is strongly limited by geographical restrictions, (2) GP is highly dependent on MP and, therefore, (3) GP varies highly throughout a year since MP depends on the seasonal pattern of wind speed in Central Europe, showing high values in winter and low values in summer.