China Project Study on Advantages of Linking Offshore Wind Power Regions in China

June 12, 2013

A study led by research associate LU Xi and China Project Chair Michael McElroy investigates the advantages of interconnecting offshore wind power bases along the coast of China to smooth power supply and ease its integration into China's regional electric grids.                                           offshore wind power graph

Shown are correlation coefficients for hourly capacity factors of all pairs of 12 offshore wind power sites, grouped in Bohai Bay (BHB), the Yangzi River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) regions. The upper left panel shows results for winter, upper right for spring, lower left for summer, and lower right for fall. It illustrates the opportunities to provide steadier power via interconnection of wind bases, exploiting differing simultaneous wind conditions over distance. The paper is in Energy Policy.