Where in the world does the wind most reliably blow, and where is it fickle in nature? About 6.5% of the world’s electricity is now generated by wind, and by 2050 this could rise to more than a third. Knowing where the steadiest winds are to be found is crucial for keeping the lights on. A new study has identified the locations that are prone to “wind droughts” and those areas that are reliably windy.
Enrico Antonini, from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, US, and colleagues analysed global climate data dating back to 1979, calculating wind power, seasonal and weather variability in each region. Their results, published in Nature, found that north-west Europe had high wind power capacity, but was also prone to wind droughts, such as the long period of low wind speed that occurred through the summer and autumn of 2021, which strained the European electricity system.
More steady and reliable locations included the American midwest, Australia, the Sahara, Argentina, central Asia and South Africa. Currently the potential wind power across these African and Asian regions is largely untapped.
However, droughts needn’t be a death knell for wind power. Instead, locations such as north-west Europe need to build resilience into the system by diversifying the power supply mix, creating grid interconnections over long distances and building energy storage.
