A techno-economic feasibility study of high altitude wind power in Northern Ireland

Globally the amount of installed terrestrial wind power both onshore and offshore has grown rapidly over the last twenty years. Most large onshore and offshore wind turbines are designed to harvest winds within the atmospheric boundary layer, which can be vary variable due to terrain and weather effects. The height of the neutral atmospheric boundary layer is estimated at above 1300m. A relatively new concept is to harvest more consistent wind conditions above the atmospheric boundary layer using high altitude wind harvesting devices such as tethered kites, air foils and dirigible rotors. This paper presents a techno-economic feasibility study of high altitude wind power in Northern Ireland. First this research involved a state of the art review of the resource and the technologies proposed for high altitude wind power. Next the techno-economic analysis involving four steps is presented. In step one, the potential of high altitude wind power in Northern Ireland using online datasets (e.g. Earth System Research Laboratory) is estimated. In step two a map for easier visualisation of geographical limitations (e.g. airports, areas of scenic beauty, flight paths, military training areas, settlements etc.) that could impact on high altitude wind power is developed. In step three the actual feasible resource available is recalculated using the visualisation map to determine the ‘optimal’ high altitude wind power locations in Northern Ireland. In the last step four the list of equipment, resources and budget needed to build a demonstrator is provided in the form of a concise techno-economic appraisal using the findings of the previous three steps.

A state-of-the-art review and feasibility analysis of high altitude wind power in Northern Ireland

In many countries wind energy has become an indispensable part of the electricity generation mix. The opportunity for ground based wind turbine systems are becoming more and more constrained due to limitations on turbine hub heights, blade lengths and location restrictions linked to environmental and permitting issues including special areas of conservation and social acceptance due to the visual and noise impacts. In the last decade there have been numerous proposals to harness high altitude winds, such as tethered kites, airfoils and dirigible based rotors. These technologies are designed to operate above the neutral atmospheric boundary layer of 1,300 m, which are subject to more powerful and persistent winds thus generating much higher electricity capacities. This paper presents an in-depth review of the state-of-the-art of high altitude wind power, evaluates the technical and economic viability of deploying high altitude wind power as a resource in Northern Ireland and identifies the optimal locations through considering wind data and geographical constraints. The key findings show that the total viable area over Northern Ireland for high altitude wind harnessing devices is 5109.6 km2, with an average wind power density of 1,998 W/m2 over a 20-year span, at a fixed altitude of 3,000 m. An initial budget for a 2MW pumping kite device indicated a total cost £1,751,402 thus proving to be economically viable with other conventional wind-harnessing devices.