Given that the confluence of these factors is difficult to model explicitly, statistical analysis methods are appropriate in analyzing the deployment patterns.
Objective
The fundamental requirements for conducting a temporal and geographic analysis of wind energy power plant deployment is to construct a database that contains the following for all projects deployed globally:
- Installed capacity (rated output) and capacity factor (if available for verification)
- Commissioning year
- Location (geographic coordinates)
- Resource quality measure
This information can then be used to respond to the overarching research question: how does historical project deployment correlates to resource quality on a global and in-country basis? Our initial hypotheses are:
- There is very limited correlation on a global scale and a stronger one on a country scale.
- The results are more apparent in countries with significant numbers of turbines installed.
- The phenomenon can only be observed for countries with compact grids in a relatively limited geographic area. Continent-countries such as the United States, China or Australia will likely not adhere to the trend.
- Correlation is better for wind resources that have a more distinct geographic delineation than PV.