2011 International Conference on Alternative Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies
- 327 -
Abstract
--
In this work, a high resolution wind atlas
for Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla Provinces in
southern Thailand was developed using combined
mesoscale, MC2, and microscale, MsMicro, modeling
techniques. The model inputs consist of long-term
statistical climate data, i.e. the NCEP/NCAR
database, high resolution topography and land cover
data. The 200 m resolution wind resource maps were
validated with results from previous studies and with
observed mean speeds from 10 met stations located
along the coastlines of both Nakhon Si Thammarat
and Songkhla Provinces. These comparisons have
shown that the wind atlas provides a good
representation of the wind resource throughout the
territory of Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla
provinces, Thailand. The technical power potential
and potential annual energy production that can be
generated from the wind in both Nakhon
Si Thammarat and Songkhla Provinces are identified.
Results from the technical power potential at 80 m
above ground level (a.g.l.) for both Nakhon
Si Thammarat and Songkhla Provinces show that a
total of 1,374 MW of wind farms, generating annually
a total of 3.6 TWh of energy, could be installed
throughout the territory of Nakhon Si Thammarat
and Songkhla Provinces.
Index Terms
--Atmospheric Model, Wind Resource
Assessment, Wind Energy Potential, Mapping
I.
I
NTRODUCTION
Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla are two of the
largest provinces of southern Thailand, in terms of size
(9,942 km
2
and 7,394 km
2
, respectively) and population
(1,519,811 and 1,324,915 citizens, respectively). Located
in southern Thailand, on the shore of the Gulf of
Thailand, they are situated on the east side of the Malay
Peninsula, as shown in Fig. 1.
Wind atlas are developed to determine the wind
resource over a given area. By helping to identify sites
with a good wind potential, they have been shown to
promote the development of wind energy in jurisdictions.
In 2001, the Wind Energy Resource Atlas of Southeast
Asia, developed by TrueWind Solutions LLC, covers
four countries (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam)
at 1 km resolution [1]. While the Wind Energy Resource
Atlas of Southeast Asia shows the general distribution of
the wind resource across the region, its resolution is too
coarse for use in specific site evaluation studies for wind
energy development. Later, in 2005, a mesoscale wind
map was developed by the Thai Department of
Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE)
using linear extrapolation models [2]. Results from the
study showed areas of significant wind energy potential
located along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.
Fig. 1. The geographical location of Nakhon Si Thammarat and
Songkhla provinces, southern Thailand.
Recently, modern atmospheric models, i.e. RAMS,
MM5, and KAM, were applied by different organizations
to create mesoscale wind resource maps at a 5 km
resolution for the whole territory of Thailand [3-5].
Table I presents a summary of the previous work
focusing on the development of wind resource maps in
Thailand.
In Canada, the Canadian Wind Energy Atlas was
developed in 2004 by the Recherche en Prévision
Numérique group at Environment Canada [6]. With the
exception of the uttermost northern region of Canada, the
Canadian Wind Energy Atlas covers the entire country at
5 km resolution. In order to provide a more precise tool
to facilitate the initial site survey for wind energy sites,
the K.C. Irving Chair in Sustainable Development,
High Resolution Wind Atlas for Nakhon Si
Thammarat and Songkhla Provinces, Southern
Thailand
J. Waewsak*, M. Landry**, and Y. Gagnon**
*Solar and Wind Energy Research Unit, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University, (
Thailand
)
Email:
** K.C. Irving Chair in Sustainable Development, University of Moncton, (
Canada
)
