Analysis of Wind Energy production conditions in Catalonia (NE Spain) based on multiple data sources: station data, ERA-5 Reanalysis, WRF/CALMET, and EURO-CORDEX.

Climate Change is largely affecting western societies and urgent decarbonization is a must to limit as much as possible global warming. Renewable energy is a critical component of this energy transition, as well as changes in human behavior. According to the Catalan Institute of Energy (ICAEN), Catalonia generated 2,706 GWh of wind energy in 2021, accounting for 6.4% of the total production.  

 

In this contribution, we explore the clear connection between wind energy capacity and weather and climate conditions. First, we use ERA-5 mean sea level pressure data (1959-2021) to identify the dominant circulation types and their evolution. Second, we combine these data with accurate local station data from the Catalan network of automatic weather stations (XEMA, from the acronym in Catalan) for the period 2009-2021 to identify the geographic patterns of wind energy production under the different circulation types. This analysis is refined using a coupled WRF/CALMET (on a 3km and 1km grid, respectively) hybrid dynamical/statistical downscaling of the GFS global data performed for the period 2016-2020. The investigation supports the assumption that, climatologically speaking, the southern areas in the mountains of Tarragona’s province and the northeastern area of Catalonia, bordering with France, are the most suitable for producing wind energy in most circumstances.  

 

Finally, using EURO-CORDEX climate model projections, we inspect future conditions.