A multi-year analysis of Canadian Arctic historical weather data in support of solar and wind renewable energy deployment

Abstract

This work explores the importance of renewable resource temporal distribution for solar and wind energy deployment in Arctic communities to meet building and ancillary loads. An analysis of ten years of historic weather data was performed for six locations in the Canadian Arctic to assess renewable resource variation. Simulations of similar capacity solar and wind generation systems were then coupled with the historic data to compare and contrast generation potential. This analysis highlighted the importance of considering hourly, daily, monthly, and year-to-year renewable generation when deploying solar and wind to the Arctic. As many northern communities in Canada have local electricity generation and distribution systems, and no connection to the continental grid, managing grid interactions effectively is crucial to the success of deployment, integration, and operation. The results for the solar energy analysis showed high consistency of production year-to-year. The results for the wind energy analysis showed that the annual outputs have significantly less variation than the year-to-year output of individual months for all the locations under study. For the high latitude locations studied, solar energy can still provide useful electricity generation output, but the more pronounced bias of the annual output to the summer months can leave several months with little or no output. The use of additional renewable sources is crucial in beginning to transition some electricity generating capacity within Arctic communities from being solely reliant on fossil fuels.

Interdecadal Variation Trend of Arctic Wind Energy

“…China is rapidly developing offshore wind energy, while the US depends on regulatory measures. Wills et al [24] used the meteorological station data in northern Canada to combine the simulation of solar and wind power generation systems with similar capacity with historical data to compare and contrast power generation potential and support renewable energy deployment. Xydis [25] analyzed wind fields in northern Greece to optimize the layout of wind farms for agricultural purposes.…”

“…Some scholars have investigated the distribution and development of wind energy resources in the Arctic [21,22,24,26], but there are several challenges. Firstly, the research is not comprehensive enough as most analyses focus on specific areas or archipelagos, lacking a holistic view of the region's wind energy resources.…”