TY  - JOUR
AU  - Taminiau, Floris
AU  - van der Zwaan, Bob
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/10/10
TI  - The Physical Potential for Dutch Offshore Wind Energy
JO  - Journal of Energy and Power Technology
SP  - 032
VL  - 04
IS  - 04
AB  - In the Netherlands, an important way to contribute toward achieving climate goals is the large-scale deployment of wind turbines in the North Sea. The North Sea is a unique location for offshore wind power thanks to its strong winds, shallow waters, and proximity to large energy users. Wind turbines generate electricity by extracting kinetic energy from the atmosphere. This kinetic energy is replenished at a finite rate through the mixing of atmospheric layers. The replenishment rate sets a physical limit to the amount of energy that can be sustainably extracted from a given area. In this study, we show that the Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone in the North Sea can sustainably host an installed capacity of approximately 59 GW on readily available space. By selecting areas fit for co-use, such as nature reserves and military zones, this amount can be increased to approximately 99 GW. With a calculated capacity factor of 45%, these areas can yield 240 and 381 TWh/yr, respectively, in the conservative and optimistic scenarios considered in this study, which correspond to approximately 39 and 62% of projected Dutch final energy demand in 2050. North Sea wind power is capable of supplying a significant amount of clean energy to Europe at large. Applying our approach to all North Sea countries combined implies that a capacity of approximately 418 GW can be sustainably installed in the North Sea under relatively conservative assumptions for water depth and distance from the shore. At a capacity factor of 43%, this can yield a power production level of as much as 1584 TWh/yr, which could satisfy approximately 40% of projected European electricity demand in 2050. 
SN  - 2690-1692
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/jept.2204032
DO  - 10.21926/jept.2204032
ID  - Taminiau2022
ER  -