Assessing the scale of wind energy rational use in remote areas of the eastern Russian Arctic

The authors assess the wind potential indicators and the scale of its use for power supply of hard-to-reach off-grid settlements in the eastern Russian Arctic. The primary challenge facing autonomous power plants is fuel delivery due to long distances and underdeveloped transport infrastructure. The use of wind power plants will reduce fuel consumption and cut the cost of energy production. The researchers use ground-based measurement data and the characteristics of existing autonomous power plants as initial data when assessing the rational capacity of wind power plants. They employ authoring research methods. Via Wind-MCA program they estimate wind potential indicators: average wind speed, capacity factor, and coefficient of wind speed variation. The research results are presented in cartographic form. The rational capacities of wind power plants as part of hybrid energy systems are determined using the generalized dependencies method based on the maximum load of a populated area and calculated wind potential indicators, taking into account the characteristic intra-annual distribution of wind speeds. The best conditions for the development of wind energy are observed on the coast of the Arctic seas in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Chukot Autonomous Area. The rational capacity of wind power plants in zones of high wind potential in hard-to-reach areas of eastern Russian Arctic is estimated at 12,5 MW.