The overall economy of a wind power project depends not only on how much energy can be produced but also on how well the daily production can be predicted. When the wind power is well predicted, the cost of balancing it with power from other sources is low, and vice versa. Sites with strong winds and high production are often also sites where the wind and the production are difficult to predict. This article examines the trade-off between production and predictability by comparing two offshore wind power plants with respect to the energy produced and the economic value of the production. The example shows that it may well be a good idea to build wind power plants in places where the winds are weaker, but easier to predict.

By Anna Hilden, FRONTWEATHER, Denmark