Icelandic wind power storage

The use of wind power for electricity generation in Iceland has hitherto been limited to small wind turbines for off-grid use, and until recently there were no large wind turbines in operation in Iceland. Despite Iceland having a favourable climate for wind power, detailed research into the wind power potential in Iceland is quite recent.

To be able to determine to what extent wind energy production in Iceland is viable, the annual averages of wind power density and available power need to be compared with the wind resources of other countries, as well as with the capacity of domestic hydro and geothermal power plants.

Relative to the coast, power density across Iceland varies between 50 and 250%. Power density of onshore winds is 100–700 W m −2 higher than for offshore winds. 1. Introduction In Iceland, more than 80% of the primary energy supply derives from geothermal and hydropower.

As seen in the previous subsections, wind conditions on Iceland are characterised by a strong seasonal cycle, with average wintertime power densities typically between 2 and 5 times higher than in summer.

The Icelandic network of weather stations is sufficient to provide a good overview of the surface wind conditions over the low-lying parts of the country. However, it leaves several regions unobserved, which may be suitable for the installation of wind farms.

One aspect of hydropower in Iceland is that the streamflow in rivers tends to exhibit a large annual variation, with larger flow during summer than in winter. Since the annual cycle of wind in Iceland has the opposite phase, with stronger winds in winter than in summer, wind power can potentially be used effectively in combination with hydropower.