Spatiotemporal variability of the wind power resource in Argentina and Uruguay

Abstract

The spatiotemporal variability of the wind power resource over Argentina and Uruguay is assessed based on the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications 2 (MERRA2) dataset. Hourly wind speeds were interpolated to 100-m height, and then, wind power outputs were computed using power curves of three International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) wind classes. The time series of wind power outputs were filtered using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to separate regular (annual and daily) from irregular (interannual and synoptic scale) cycles. An empirical orthogonal function analysis was applied to the resulting datasets to obtain the main modes of variability. The results show that the combination of wind power outputs from southern and northern Patagonia broadly follows the average annual electric load. Patagonia exhibits the highest variability on the interannual, annual, and synoptic timescales. On the interannual and synoptic timescales, the variability modes are associated with known and distinct atmospheric circulation modes. The interannual modes of variability are associated with opposite surface level pressure (SLP) anomalies between middle and high latitudes.