Assessment of long-term offshore wind energy potential in the south and southeast coasts of China based on a 55-year dataset

In this study, based on the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA-55) dataset, the spatio-temporal variations of wind resources were analyzed in the South China Sea. An approach to determine suitable locations of offshore wind energy extraction was proposed and applied to the south and southeast coasts of China. The approach took into account various criteria, including long-term change and wave condition, with different weights. The results showed that Luzon Strait and Taiwan Strait have higher wind energy potential than other areas, while the intra-annual fluctuation in Luzon Strait is significantly high, ranging from 400 to 2500 W/m2 and thus it is not suitable to provide stable power output. The investigation of the long-term change showed that most of the South China Sea experienced a remarkable decrease in the period of 1971–1980, while the overall long-term wind energy trend during five decades was mostly even. The investigation in selected sites indicated that the most suitable location for wind power exploitation is the nearshore of Quanzhou, Fujian, near which there are wind farms under construction, already. The suggested future offshore wind power development is along the coasts of Hong Kong, with the potential of generating 35.36 MWh/y per wind turbine of type SWT-7.0-154