EXPRESS ANALYSIS OF PROBABILISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF WIND POWER TATIONS AS A SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR SEAWATER DESALINATION IN THE AZOV-BLACK SEA REGION OF UKRAINE

Abstract

Ukraine takes part in the implementation of the European program «2´40 GW Green Hydrogen Initiative». It is planned to build 10 GW of electrolyser capacity on the territory of Ukraine for the production of «green» hydrogen using the energy of wind power stations in the Azov-Black Sea region. Territorial sea waters of Ukraine are characterized by a significant potential of offshore wind energy, which is currently developing rapidly in the world. One of the alternative options for supplying fresh water for the operation of electrolysers when powered by offshore wind power stations involves using desalinated seawater. The operation of 10 GW of electrolyser capacity will ensure the production of «green» hydrogen in the amount of 1.65 million tons per year and will require the consumption of prepared fresh water of about 24 million m3/year. Seawater desalination is an established technology that is widely used worldwide to reduce freshwater scarcity. The use of energy from wind power stations for seawater desalination is an alternative option within the scope of this Program. However, the mismatch between the random nature of wind power generation and the constant energy demand for desalination makes the integration between the two technologies all the more important. The goal of this paper is to estimate the probabilistic annual ensuring of given levels of power and volume of electricity production by wind power stations in the coastal and offshore territories of the Azov-Black Sea region of Ukraine. The probabilistic annual distributions of wind speed and energy indicators of wind power stations for a height of 100 meters were studied, the average annual wind speed of about 7.5 m/s was substantiated. An achievable value of the utilization rate of the installed capacity of wind power stations was obtained at the level of 35 %, provided that the generated energy is fully integrated into the technological schemes of water desalination. The duration of production of full and half volumes of electricity production and power generation is determined. Algorithms for calculating the probability of exceeding various required power levels and volumes of electricity production by wind power stations have been developed. Bibl. 48, Fig. 6, Tab. 4.