A Study on the Balancing of the Wind and Solar Energy Resources in Andalusia (Southern Iberian Peninsula)
Abstract
The balancing of the wind and solar energy resources in Andalusia (southern Iberian Peninsula) is analyzed based on the analysis of a simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model. The simulation covered the year 2007, with a spatial resolution of 9 km and a temporal resolution of 1 hour. A Barnett-Preidendorfer Canonical Correlation Analysis was carried for the wind and solar energy daily integrated values, derived from the simulation, over the study area. The region of the study is located in a transition zone from middle latitudes to subtropical climates, with the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean region in the southern bound. In addition, the region presents areas of complex topography. As a consequence, differential weather and climate conditions are observed across the region. Preliminary results showed the existence of important extensions in the study region with a considerable balancing between the solar and wind energy resources at daily scale during the winter. Namely, the western area and the Mediterranean coast of the study region and the Gibraltar strait area.