Cell Reports Sustainability (May 2024)
India onshore wind energy atlas accounting for altitude and land use restrictions and co-located solar
Abstract
Summary: India faces the simultaneous challenges of meeting rising energy demand and reducing carbon emissions. To address these, India must transition to renewable energy sources. This study provides high-resolution maps that quantify available areas for wind farms, accounting for wind speeds at multiple altitudes between 100 and 200 m and excluding infrastructure, sensitive land use, and unsuitable terrain. Results indicate that, with wind speeds greater than 5 m/s at 150 m above ground level, 23% (∼750,300 km2) of India’s land area is available. This equates to ∼18,300 TWh/y produced using modern wind turbines, more than twice that needed to meet India’s 2050 energy demand upon electrification of all energy. In addition, 117,700 TWh/y of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind resources are available when the two are co-located. This atlas can facilitate strategic site selection, reducing time, cost, and uncertainty in the renewable energy development process in India. Science for society: Climate change, air pollution, and energy security are significant challenges in India. This study helps address these challenges by quantifying onshore wind resources at different relevant altitudes over India, a major global carbon emitter. A high-resolution wind energy atlas is developed that accounts for technical, climate, environmental, and social exclusions. Findings indicate that, with all but the highest wind speeds, more than sufficient area and potential are available to meet demand for all energy purposes in India by 2050 using wind energy alone. The maximum area and potential for repowering, as well as the co-locational opportunities for wind with solar photovoltaic (PV) resources, are also analyzed. The outcome is a series of maps that can increase certainty for resource planning, expedite the siting process, reduce investment risk, decrease future project costs, increase access to key data for energy planners, and drive India closer to a sustainable energy system.
