OFFSHORE WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OFF THE SOUTH AFRICAN COASTLINE

The world is undergoing a paradigm shift as more people are becoming aware of energy consumption patterns, reinforcing the need for developing cleaner and more sustainable ways to generate electrical energy. Globally, the development of onshore wind farms is sometimes impeded by factors such as aesthetic impact, acceptance by the public, the threats to surrounding biodiversity, noise from the power plant and possible land use conflicts. Due to these concerns, offshore wind plants have been developed. Offshore wind energy is generally greater in comparison to that of onshore wind energy because the wind speeds offshore are generally higher and more constant with fewer obstructions to the wind resource. The offshore wind potential for South African coastal regions was investigated and analysed in this study. Various factors such as shipping routes, oil and gas exploration fields and possible transmission connection points were taken into consideration before selecting four data collection sites. The predominant wind direction, mean wind speed, wind shear and spatial geographic information was analysed for each site. The sites' wind direction did not have any similarities, with each site having its own prevailing wind directions. Within the 50 m hub height, Site 2 showed the best potential based on the power density. Site 1 and Site 3 showed similar power densities to each other with Site 4 showing the lowest power density. The distance to shore ranged from 200 km to 500 km with a steep continental shelf drop to a depth of approximately 3 000 m. The study conducted shows that there is offshore wind potential off the coast of South Africa. Energy generated by this method could assist South Africa to increase access to energy, reduce expensive transmission line losses to coastal provinces, and assist the country to transition towards a more sustainable future energy mix in line with developed nations.