Climate Change to Have Little Impact on Wind Energy Production

According to a study released by the National Academy of Sciences, wind energy production in the United States should not be negatively impacted substantially by climate change as global temperatures continue to rise.

The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, was conducted by researchers at Indiana University. According to their research, the increase in temperatures from Global Warming could actually increase the wind, making wind energy more plentiful.

“There are a lot of myths out there about the stability of wind patterns,” said study coauthor Rebecca Barthelmie, a professor of Atmospheric Science at IU. Industry and government want more information about the long-term viability of wind as a power source before making decisions to expand its use, she said.

Barthelmie working with Principal Investigator Sara Pryor, IU’s provost professor of Atmospheric Science, used several regional climate models to assess potential future wind patterns across the U.S. mainland. They concluded that the warmer temperatures should not reduce the amount of wind in areas targeted for wind energy production.

“Areas where the model predicts decreases in wind density are quite limited,” said Pryor. “Many of the areas where wind density is predicted to decrease are off limits for wind farms anyway.”

On a positive note, the researchers were able to identify areas where we could expect to find increased wind density. This would actually allow for improved opportunity for wind energy production. The areas mentioned include the Great Lakes, eastern New Mexico, southwestern Ohio, southern Texas and large swaths of several Mexican states, including Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Chihuahua and Durango.

“The models tested show that current wind patterns across the US are not expected to change significantly over the next 50 years since the predicted climate variability in this time period is still within the historical envelope of climate variability,” said Antoinette WinklerPrins, a Geography and Spatial Sciences Program director at NSF.

“The impact on future wind energy production is positive as current wind patterns are expected to stay as they are. This means that wind energy production can continue to occur in places that are currently being targeted for that production.”