Impacts des changements climatiques sur l’énergie éolienne

The wind energy industry in Canada will have to go through a process of upgrading its infrastructures ‘ known as repowering – by the end of the 2020s. The effects of climate change (CC) on the wind and icing regimes must be taken into account for the best possible planning of the repowering process. The main objective of this project is hence to assess the effects of CC on wind energy production and infrastructure in the decades to come, using climate simulations for 1950 to 2070. This study represents the first scientific and economic analysis ever conducted on the impacts of CC on the Canadian wind industry. It is expected to greatly improve the quality and accuracy of energy production forecasting (available wind resource and energy losses due to icing), using the smallest scale ever for Canada. Grid operators, wind farm developers, investors and numerous other stakeholders will benefit from an evaluation of the future wind resources available in Canada. Indeed, this study will allow the aforementioned parties to identify strategies and plan for the repowering of their wind plants while accounting for expected changes due to CC over the decades to come. As a result, they will have a more precise estimate of the wind energy potential and profitability of their assets after repowering. Students of the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles and researchers in the areas of climate modelling and long-term wind power forecasting will directly benefit from the knowledge acquired in the context of this project. Keywords: Climate Change, Wind Modelling, Wind Energy Production, Future Wind Resource, Icing Modelling, Wind Farm Repowering, adaptation to climate change, climate modeling

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