Analysis of ENSO influence on the solar and wind potential of the department of La Guajira

ABSTRACT

This study explores how solar radiation and wind speed in La Guajira vary in response to El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Climatic data were collected and analysed at three iconic locations: Upper Guajira, Middle Guajira, and Lower Guajira, over a span of three decades. The data were obtained from reliable sources such as IDEAM and NASA stations. To identify El Niño and La Niña periods, Southern Oscillation Index (ONI) data were utilised. Subsequently, the data underwent detailed statistical analyses, including hypothesis testing. During El Niño, solar radiation is altered solely in Lower Guajira; for La Niña, no significant changes in solar radiation across the region are observed. Wind speed, for the most part, remains unaffected by the studied climatic phenomena in these areas, with an exception in Middle Guajira during La Niña, where it is notably influenced.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate variability
• solar radiation
• wind speed
• El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
• La Guajira department
• renewable energies

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Colombia Scientific Program within the framework of the call Ecosistema Científico (Contract No. FP44842- 218-2018). The authors also acknowledge Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA for the valuable economic contribution toward the development of this research through the “Sostenibilidad” program and the Universidad de La Guajira for their support in the development of this work..

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research received no external funding.