Castro claims 1 TW of accessable GLOBAL wind resources given his constraints, right?
Well, either his approach is really, really flawed or 43% of that resource is concentrated offshore within about 50 miles of the US midAtlantic states (330GW) and the shallows off the coast of Brazil (102GW). Total 432GW - and we haven't discussed other areas that are well surveyed such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Northwest nor the wind corridor extending from Texas into Canada across the midwest.
Both articles contain a complete description of the method used to calculate the resource. If you want more both articles are available at the UD's Center for Carbon-free Power Integration.
http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/windpower/articles.htmlMidAtlantic Bight (Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras)The scientists began by developing a model of the lowest atmospheric layer over the ocean. Known as the “planetary boundary layer,” it extends vertically from the ocean surface to 3,000 meters (up to 9,842 feet) and is where strong, gusty winds occur due to friction between the atmosphere and the sea surface, solar heating and other factors. It provides the “fuel” for offshore wind turbines, which may stand up to 80 meters (262 feet) tall, with blades as long as 55 meters (180 feet).
The scientists examined current wind-turbine technologies to determine the depth of the water and the distance from shore the wind turbines could be located. They also defined “exclusion zones” where wind turbines could not be installed, such as major bird flyways, shipping lanes, chemical disposal sites, military restricted areas, borrow sites where sediments are removed for beach renourishment projects, and “visual space” from major tourist beaches
To estimate the size of the wind power resource, the researchers needed to figure out the maximum number of wind turbines that could be erected and the region's average wind power. The spacing used between the hypothetical wind turbines was about one-half mile apart. At a closer spacing, Kempton said, upwind turbines will “steal” wind energy from downstream ones.
Anemometer readings from the nine NOAA weather buoys in the Middle Atlantic Bight were analyzed. To determine the average wind over the region, the scientists reviewed all the wind-speed data from the past 21 years from one of the buoys. The findings were then extrapolated to the height of the offshore wind turbines currently being manufactured in order to determine the average power output per unit. At the current 80-meter (262-foot) wind turbine height, the extrapolated wind speed of the mid-range buoy is 8.2 meters per second (18.3 miles per hour or 16 knots).
The scientists' estimate of the full-resource, average wind power output of 330 gigawatts ...
http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2007/feb/wind020107.htmlBrazilUsing all of this information, Kempton, Garvine, and Pimenta calculated the potential power production for two different wind turbine models. Kempton said, "The total average electricity use of Brazil is near 100 gigawatts, and the offshore wind resource of this one section of coast, to only 50 meters <164 feet> of water, is 102 gigawatts." That means that if the study area were to become a fully built wind energy project, it could supply enough electricity for the entire country's electricity needs.
http://nasadaacs.eos.nasa.gov/articles/2008/2008_wind.htmlThe approach used in these studies uses measured wind, measured area, real world distribution of known turbines and actual operational characteristics of the turbines. The locations were chosen not because they have special resources but because they were areas of personal interest to the authors. The results are also completely consistent with Jacobson's earlier work mentioned by Castro.
So unless by chance they stumbled on two of the most productive areas of the world for wind, Castro's work has absolutely no validity.
I am confident it is the latter.