Mapping of wind energy potential over the Gobi Desert in Northwest China based on multiple sources of data

Abstract

In recent years, wind energy has been a fast-growing alternative source of electrical power due to its sustainability. In this paper, the wind energy potential over the Gobi Desert in Northwest China is assessed at the patch scale using geographic information systems (GIS). Data on land cover, topography, and administrative boundaries and 11 years (2000–2010) of wind speed measurements were collected and used to map and estimate the region’s wind energy potential. Based on the results, it was found that continuous regions of geographical potential (GeoP) are located in the middle of the research area (RA), with scattered areas of similar GeoP found in other regions. The results also show that the technical potential (TecP) levels are about 1.72–2.67 times (2.20 times on average) higher than the actual levels. It was found that the GeoP patches can be divided into four classes: unsuitable regions, suitable regions, more suitable regions, and the most suitable regions. The GeoP estimation shows that 0.41 billion kW of wind energy are potentially available in the RA. The suitable regions account for 25.49%, the more suitable regions 24.45%, and the most suitable regions for more than half of the RA. It is also shown that Xinjiang and Gansu are more suitable for wind power development than Ningxia.

Keywords

wind energy / alternative energy / sustainability / Northwest China / Gobi Desert

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Key Technology Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFC0503302), the Science and Technology Service Network Initiative (No. KFJ-SW-STS-181) and a Consulting Review Program Grant of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is part of a PhD program for assessing the value of ecosystem services in Northwest China carried out by the first author. Li Li was responsible for validating the simulated GeoP with remote sensing data and drafting the paper; Xinyuan Wang contributed key technical guidance; Lei Luo supplied valuable suggestions on improving the method and presented valuable comments; Yanchuang Zhao and Xin Zong completed the wind speed interpolation; and Nabil Bachagha extracted the wind plants on the preliminary satellite data. All authors read and approved the manuscript. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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