Powering the World with Clean Energy Reliable Renewables: wind, solar and hybrid solutions Preliminary Assessment of Promising Island Candidates for Detailed Wind Resource Measurement IRENA Forum 2015 Martinique 22-24 June 2015 VERGNET group: a history made in islands 25 YEARS’ experience on REMOTE and INSULAR areas 1992: first hybrid system 40 WIND & PV plants installed on islands worldwide 5 continents - 35 countries 4 subsidiaries of maintenance and local partners Subsidiaries • RE plants 2 • Preliminary Assessment of Promising Island Candidates for Detailed Wind Resource Measurement Wind: a promising resource for most islands Overview of the wind resource worldwide Specificities of “trade winds” regime Addressing the cyclonic risk (and logistical issues) Detailed panorama of wind resources in islands Suggested criteria for potential candidates 3 Wind potential in islands Wind : a promising resource in most of islands MESO data (AWS, IRENA, MERRA,…) demonstrate good wind potential, with 6 m/s at 50 m AGL in most regions. Wind measurement already completed or under way in many islands 4 Wind potential in islands Specificities of the "Trade winds" regime Opportunities : Distribution : focus around 6-8 m/s Very directional wind rose : Caribbean Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean > Wind opportunity is a "no-brainer" for most islands 5 Wind potential in islands Specificities of the "Trade winds" regime : Caribbean : the most active cyclonic region in the world 1940-2014: Category 5 cyclones impacts 6 Wind potential in islands Specificities of the "Trade winds" regime : Indian Ocean 1940-2014: Category 4 and 5 cyclones impacts 7 Wind potential in islands Specificities of the "Trade winds" regime : Pacific Ocean 1940-2014: Category 4 and 5 cyclones impacts 8 Wind potential in islands Addressing the hurricane risk : GEV MP-C 275 kW Tilting design Resistance to Category 5 hurricane (72 m/s average 1 min at 10 m AGL) 323 units in operation in cyclone-prone regions worldwide March 2015: Devil’s point wind farm Vanuatu undamaged after cyclone Pam. Winds up to 320 km/h 9 Wind potential in islands Addressing the logistics issue 10 Detailed panorama of Island Wind resources ISLAND Cook Islands Fiji Guam Kiribati Papua New Guinea Marshall Islands FS Micronesia Nauru New Caledonia Niue Northern Mariana Islands Palau Polynesia Samoa Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands REGION Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Pacific Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Satellite speed (m/s) 2,8 4,6 4,6 5,9 6 Wind mast? Y Y 4,1 6 4,6 4,6 1,5 4,3 3,3 4 6,5 4,6 5,9 7 7,2 10 4,5 7,1 6,6 6,6 6,5 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y ? Y ? Wind project completed? Y Y Y (in construction) N N N N Y N Y N N N N Y N N Y Y N N Y N N ISLAND Cuba Curacao Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guadeloupe Guyana Guyana (Fr) Haiti Jamaica Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Turks & Caicos United States Virgin Islands Cape Verde Comoros Maldives Mauritius Seychelles Satellite Wind project REGION speed (m/s) Wind mast? completed? Caribbean 5,2 Y Y Caribbean Y Y Caribbean 7,5 ? N Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean 6,2 7,7 5,2 9,6 7 7,3 7,2 Y Y Y ? Y Y Y Y N Y Y N Y N Y N Y Y N Y Caribbean Caribbean 7,1 7,7 Y Y Y N Caribbean Caribbean 8,3 4,9 Y ? N N Caribbean Caribbean 6,9 6,6 N N N Caribbean AIMS AIMS AIMS AIMS AIMS 6,3 5,9 6,7 2,0 5,9 2,0 Y N Y 4,8 Y Y 11 Y Wind potential in islands Wind energy is appropriate, already adopted by 40 % of the listed islands 34 % of the countries listed have good wind resource potential, but no wind project developped. Why ? Land availability Financing of smaller projects Taking the initial risk Maximum risk during the project pre-development Investors exist, but lack of Investors able to take the pre-development risk Support in financing feasibility and wind resource estimation can be decisive for smallmedium scale wind projects. 12 Potential candidates for wind measurements or pilot projects Suggested criteria Land Availability : Land rights, compliant with aviation, weather authorities Compliant with distance to habitations : a viable project must be approved by the community. Wind resource : Minimum 6 m/s @ 50 m on mesoscale data, extrapolation from neighboring masts or masts from the same territory Sufficient load and relevant project size : Future project should have a sufficient critical size : to attract investors once developed To actually contribute to reducing island’s fuel consumption Consider Pilot projects as first phase of future project : Wind technology is mature Turbine model preferably identical to those of the future wind farm (ex : Success story Vanuatu, 1 pilot then added + 10 + 2 identical turbines) 13 Potential candidates for wind measurements or pilot projects Suggested criteria Country readiness for wind power : Enabling environment: existing energy roadmap, favorable energy framework, existing preliminary studies, wind map … Clear intent for wind development at all stakeholder’s level. Wind is not an a priori choice, but will to do is necessary. Multi-island countries : Highly dependent on fossil fuel generation Increased costs due to double insularity Electricity rates subsidized : cost for Utility Countries with wind already deployed but with potential for extension : Already available data allow for shorter measurement campaign to validate a new site (ex: LIDAR) Local competencies already available on site 14 Thank you Istvan Ponsot – i.ponsot@vergnet.fr 15