Potential wind power generation in the State of Kuwait

The wind characteristics of six locations in the State of Kuwait have been assessed. The annual average wind speed for the considered sites ranged from 3.7 to 5.5 m/s and a mean wind power density from 80 to 167 W/m² at standard height of 10 m. The Weibull parameters and power density of each station have been determined using Weibull distribution. The wind data at heights 15, 20, 25 and 30 m were obtained by extrapolation of the 10 m data using the Power-Law. The potential wind energy at different heights was estimated using Weibull parameters. Maximum power density is found at 30 m height which varies between 130 and 275 W/m² with 70% increase from the standard height indicating fairly potential wind energy especially in the northern part of the country. The highest potential wind power was found during the summer season which is the peak demand season of electricity in Kuwait.     

Wind resource evaluation in São João do Cariri (SJC) - Paraiba, Brazil

In this study wind resources evaluation and wind energy assessment of the São João do Cariri (SJC) in Paraiba (PB) state situated in Brazilian northeast were analyzed during the period 2006/2009. Wind speed (V, m/s), wind direction and air temperature (T, °C) at 25 m and 50 m were collected from SONDA (Sistema de Organização Nacional de Dados Ambientais) meteorological station (38°N 7°E). The average wind speed and temperature for 25 m and 50 m were found 4.74 m/s, 24.46 °C and 5.31 m/s 24.25 °C respectively. The wind speed predominate direction found were SSE (165°) from both 25 m and 50 m heights. The wind speed distribution curve was obtained using the Weibull probability density function through the WAsP program, the values of Weibull shape (K), scale (A, m/s) and Weibull fit wind speed and power wind density (P, W/m²) were found 2.54, 5.4 m/s, 4.76 m/s and 103 W/m² for 25 m wind height measurements and 2.59, 6.0 m/s, 5.36 m/s and 145 W/m² for 50 m wind height measurements. The cost (€/kWh) from electrical wind energy obtained by wind turbine generation, at 25 m height, was found 0.046 by using 300 kW power rated wind turbine, in the best scenario, with an associate C_f of 14.5%.     

Wind characteristics and wind energy potential in Morocco

The wind characteristics of 11 sites in the windy regions in Morocco have been analysed. The annual average wind speed for the considered sites ranged from 5 m/s to 10 m/s and the average power density from 100 W/m² to 1000 W/m², which might be suitable for electrical power production by installing wind farms. On an annual scale the observations of the distribution of hourly wind speed are better fitted by the Weibull hybrid distribution in contrast to the Weibull distribution.The wind power is estimated to be 1817 MW, that is to say, the exploitable wind energy is 15198 GWh, which represents theoretically 11% of the total consumed energy in Morocco in 1994.     

Wind energy potential assessment in Naxos Island,Greece

The current paper presents an investigation of the wind power potential of Koronos village, a remote location in the northeastern part of Naxos Island, Greece, using real wind data by a measurement mast. The obtained wind characteristics were statistically analysed using the Weibull and Rayleigh distribution functions. The results from this investigation showed that the selected site falls under Class 7 of the international system of wind classification as the mean annual wind speed recorded in the area was 7.4 m/s and the corresponding annual mean power density was estimated to be 420 W/m². Furthermore, the prevailing wind directions characterising the area were the northeastern and the north–northeastern. From the statistical analysis of these results, it was revealed that the Weibull model fitted the actual data better. This remark was further enhanced by the evaluation of the performance of these two distributions.     

The potential of electricity generation on the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt

Wind characteristics have been analyzed based on long-term measured data of monthly mean wind speed of seven meteorological stations along the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt. It was found that the windiest stations (Region A) namely (Zafarana, Abu Darag, Hurghada and Ras Benas) have annual mean wind speeds (7.3, 7.2, 6.4 and 5.5 m/s) at 10 m height, respectively.Numerical estimations using measured wind speeds and frequencies to calculate the two Weibull parameters were carried out and two methods were applied.The methodical analysis for the corrected monthly wind power density at a height of 10 m above ground level, over roughness class 0 (water), for each station was done. The recommended correlation equation was also stated for Red Sea zone in Egypt. Also the corrected annual wind power density at the heights (50–70) m was obtained for all stations. Moreover, calculations show that the four stations in (Region A) have a huge energy potential available (430–1000 W/m²) at 70 m height, while Quseir and Suez stations (Region B) have good wind power density (170–190 W/m²) at 50 m height.A technical and economic assessment has been made of electricity generation from two turbines machines having capacity of (1000 and 600 kW) considered in Regions A & B, respectively, using WASP program. The yearly energy output, capacity factor and the electrical energy cost of kWh produced by the two different turbines in each region were estimated. The production costs of four stations in Region A was found to be less than 2€ cent/kWh and compared with retail tariff.     

Investigation of wind power density at different heights in the Gelibolu peninsula of Turkey

This study aims to determine the wind characteristics and wind power potential of the Gelibolu peninsula in the Çanakkale region of Turkey. For this purpose, hourly average wind data observed at the Gelibolu meteorological station were used. The Weibull probability density functions and Weibull parameters of time-series of wind speed, mean wind speed, and mean wind power potential were determined for different heights as 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 m. According to the results obtained at 10- and 50-m heights above the ground level, the annual wind speed varied from 6.85 to 8.58 m/s in this region, respectively. The annual wind power potential of the site was determined as 407 and 800 W/m² for 10- and 50-m heights, respectively. These results indicate that the investigated site has a reasonable wind power potential for generating electricity.     

Wind power resource in the south-western region of Algeria

In this study, we present a statistical analysis of wind speeds at Tindouf in Algeria using Risoe National Laboratory's Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP). It requires information related to the sheltering obstacles, surface roughness changes and terrain height variations in order to calculate their effects on the wind. Wind data, consisting of hourly wind speed records over a 5-year period, 2002–2006, were obtained from SONELGAZ R&D Office; the average wind speed at a height of 17 m above ground level was found to range from 7.19 to 7.95 m/s. The Weibull distributions parameters (c and k) were found to vary between 8.0 and 8.9 m/s and 2.54–3.23, respectively, with average power density ranging from 318 to 458 W/m². The dominant wind directions and the frequency distributions were also determined.     

Potential wind power generation in South Egypt

Egypt is one of the developing countries. The production of electricity in Egypt is basically on petroleum, natural gas, hydro-power and wind energy. The objective of this work to prove the availability of sufficient wind potential in the wide area of deep south Egypt for the operation of wind turbines there. Nevertheless, it gives in general an approximate profile which is useful to the wind parks design for this area. The data used in the calculation are published and analyzed for the first time. The diagrams of the measured wind data for three meteorological stations over a period of two years (wind speed, frequency, direction), wind shear coefficient, the mean monthly and annual wind speed profile for every location are presented. Monthly Weibull parameters, standard deviation and coefficient of variation have been statistically discussed. A comparison of the rose diagrams shows that the wind speed is more persistent and blow over this region of Egypt in two main sectors N and NNW with long duration of frequencies from 67% to 87% over the year with an average wind speed in the range 6.8-7.9 m/s at the three stations. Evaluation of monthly wind energy density at 10 m height by two different methods was carried out. And the final diagram for every site shows no significant difference between them. The annual natural wind energies at 70 m A.G.L. lie between 333 and 377 W/m² for Dakhla South and Kharga stations, respectively, which is similar to the inland wind potential of Vindeby (Denmark) and some European countries. These results indicate that Kharga and Dakhla South locations are new explored sites for future wind power generation projects.     

Assessment of wind energy potentiality at Kudat and Labuan, Malaysia using Weibull distribution function

The wind resource is a crucial step in planning a wind energy project and detailed knowledge of the wind characteristic at a site is needed to estimate the performance of a wind energy project. In this paper, with the help of 2-parameter Weibull distribution, the assessment of wind energy potentiality at Kudat and Labuan in 2006-2008 was carried out. “WRPLOT” software has been used to show the wind direction and resultant of the wind speed direction. The monthly and yearly highest mean wind speeds were 4.76 m/s at Kudat and 3.39 m/s at Labuan respectively. The annual highest values of the Weibull shape parameter (k) and scale parameter (c) were 1.86 and 3.81 m/s respectively. The maximum wind power density was found to be 67.40 W/m² at Kudat for the year 2008. The maximum wind energy density was found to be 590.40 kWh/m²/year at Kudat in 2008. The highest most probable wind speed and wind speed carrying maximum energy were estimated 2.44 m/s at Labuan in 2007 and 6.02 m/s at Kudat in 2007. The maximum deviation, at wind speed more than 2 m/s, between observed and Weibull frequency distribution was about 5%. The most probable wind directions (blowing from) were 190° and 269° at Kudat and Labuan through the study years. From this study, it is concluded that these sites are unsuitable for the large-scale wind energy generation. However, small-scale wind energy can be generated at the turbine height of 100 m.     

6 years of wind data for Marsabit,Kenya average over 14 m/s at 100 m hub height; An analysis of the wind energy potential

The wind energy potential for generation of electricity and for domestic water pumping has been investigated for Marsabit, Kenya. Marsabit (37° 58′N, 2° 19′E) lies in Eastern province approximately 560 km from Nairobi. Wind data from the Kenya Meteorological department for the period 2001–2006 has been used to study the Diurnal, monthly and inter-annual variability using empirical methods including the Power law and Weibull statistics. Average wind speeds greater than11 m/s at a height of 10 m are prevalent in this area. The available power density at a height of 100 m is between 1776 W/m² and 2202 W/m² which is in the wind class range of 7 and 8. The maximum extractable power density at 100 m varied between 1417 W/m² and 1757 W/m². Values of Weibull parameters k (dimensionless) and c (m/s) ranged between 2.5–3.05 and 11.86–12.97 respectively. Wind Rose analysis revealed no marked variation in wind direction and frequency throughout the year (mean direction between 150 and 160 degrees with highest standard deviation of 33.5 degrees). From the analysis, the site was found suitable for grid connected power generation and also for other stand-alone generators that can be used for water pumping and battery charging.     

Evaluation of wind energy potential as a power generation source for electricity production in Binalood,Iran

In this paper, the hourly measured wind speed data for years 2007–2010 at 10 m, 30 m and 40 m height for Binalood region in Iran have been statically analyzed to determine the potential of wind power generation. The study showed that the long-term wind speeds were found to be relatively high. The numerical values of the dimensionless Weibull shape parameter (k) and Weibull scale parameters (c) were also determined. Based on these data, it was found that the numerical values of the shape and scale parameters for Binalood varied over a wide range. The yearly values of k at 40 m elevation range from 2.165 to 2.211 with a mean value of 2.186, while those of c are in the range of 7.683–8.016 with a mean value of 7.834. However, the yearly mean wind speed, mean power density and power density of Binalood at 40 m height are found as 5.923 m/s, 305.514 W/m² and 2676.30 (kWh/m²/year) respectively. The results show that Binalood has available great wind energy potential for grid connection system.     

Estimation of wind speed profile using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)

Wind energy has become a major competitor of traditional fossil fuel energy, particularly with the successful operation of multi-megawatt sized wind turbines. However, wind with reasonable speed is not adequately sustainable everywhere to build an economical wind farm. The potential site has to be thoroughly investigated at least with respect to wind speed profile and air density. Wind speed increases with height, thus an increase of the height of turbine rotor leads to more generated power. Therefore, it is imperative to have a precise knowledge of wind speed profiles in order to assess the potential for a wind farm site. This paper proposes a clustering algorithm based neuro-fuzzy method to find wind speed profile up to height of 100 m based on knowledge of wind speed at heights 10, 20, 30, 40 m. The model estimated wind speed at 40 m based on measured data at 10, 20, and 30 m has 3% mean absolute percent error when compared with measured wind speed at height 40 m. This close agreement between estimated and measured wind speed at 40 m indicates the viability of the proposed method. The comparison with the 1/7th law and experimental wind shear method further proofs the suitability of the proposed method for generating wind speed profile based on knowledge of wind speed at lower heights.     

Assessment of wind energy potential of two sites in North-East,Nigeria

The study is used to assess the wind energy potential of Maiduguri and Potiskum, two sites in North-East, Nigeria. 21 years (1987–2007) monthly mean wind data at 10 m height were assessed from the Nigeria Meteorological department and subjected to 2-parameter Weibull and other statistical analyzes. The result showed that average monthly mean wind speed variation for Potiskum ranged from 3.90 to 5.85 m/s, while for Maiduguri, it ranged from 4.35 to 6.33 m/s. Seasonally, data variation between the dry and wet seasons revealed that, the mean wind speed variation for Potiskum ranged from 4.46 (for dry) to 5.16 m/s (for wet), while for Maiduguri it ranged from 5.10 (dry) to 5.59 m/s (wet). The wind power density variation based on the Weibull analysis ranged from 102.54 to 300.15 W/m² for Potiskum and it ranged from 114.77 to 360.04 W/m² for Maiduguri respectively. Moreover, Maiduguri was found to be the better of the sites in terms of monthly and seasonal variation of mean wind speed, but they both can be suitable for stand alone and medium scale wind power generation.     

Offshore wind power simulation by using WRF in the central coast of Chile

This paper presents the first estimate of offshore wind power potential for the central coast of Chile. For this purpose, wind speed data from in-situ stations and ERA-Interim reanalysis were used to simulate wind fields at regional level by means of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Wind field simulations were performed at different heights (20, 30, 40 and 140 m.a.s.l.) and a spatial resolution of 3 × 3 km for the period from February 1, 2006 to January 31, 2007, which comprised the entire series of in-situ data available. The results show an RMSE and r² of 2.2 m s⁻¹ and 0.55 respectively for the three heights simulated as compared to in-situ data. Based on the simulated wind data, the wind power for the study area was estimated at ∼1000 W m⁻² at a height of 140 m.a.s.l. For a typical wind turbine of 8 MW generator, the estimated capacity factor exceeds 40%, with an average annual generation of ∼30 GWh. Offshore wind power in Chile is an emerging renewable energy source that is as yet still under-developed, these estimates help to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge about Chile's true renewable energy potential.     

Wind shear coefficients and energy yield for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

This study presents calculated values of wind shear coefficients (WSE) using measured values of wind speed at 20, 30, and 40 m above ground level (AGL), for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The study also includes the air density estimated using measured air temperature and surface pressure and effect of wind shear coefficient on energy yield from a wind farm of 60 MW installed capacity developed using 40 wind turbines of 1500 kW size. The data used in the determination of wind shear coefficient covered a period of almost 5 years between 4 October 1995 and 30 November 2000.The study suggests a value of 0.189 of wind shear coefficient for the calculation of wind speed at different heights if measured values are known at one height. No regular seasonal trend was observed in the values of wind shear coefficients. In case of diurnal variation, higher values were observed during nighttime and early hours of the day and comparatively smaller values during day light hours. The air density, calculated using measured temperature and pressure was found to be 1.18 kg/m³. The energy yield obtained using RetScreen software, showed that the actual wind shear coefficient presented in this paper produced around 11–12% more energy compared to that obtained using 1/7 power law. Accordingly, 2–3% higher plant capacity factors were achieved using actual site-dependent wind shear coefficient instead of 1/7th wind power law exponent for the calculation of wind speed at hub-height.     

Investigation of wind characteristics and wind energy potential in Kirklareli, Turkey

Utilization of wind energy as an energy source has been growing rapidly in the whole world due to environmental pollution, consumption of the limited fossil fuels and global warming. Although Turkey has fairly high wind energy potential, exploitation of the wind energy is still in the crawling level. In the current study, wind characteristics and wind energy potential of Kırklareli province in the Marmara Region, Turkey were analyzed taking into account the wind data measured as hourly time series. The wind data used in the study were taken from Electrical Power Resources Survey and Development Administration (EIEI) for the year 2004. The measured wind data were processed as annual, seasonal and monthly. Weibull and Rayleigh probability density functions of the location are calculated in the light of observed data and Weibull shape parameter k and scale parameter c are found as 1.75 and 5.25 m/s for the year 2004. According to the power calculations done for the site, annual mean power density based on Weibull function is 138.85 W/m². The results indicate that investigated site has fairly wind energy potential for the utilization.     

Wind resource evaluation in six selected high altitude locations in Nigeria

This paper presents an assessment of wind energy potentials of six selected high altitude locations within the North-West and North-East geopolitical regions, Nigeria, by using 36-year (1971–2007) wind speed data subjected to 2-parameter Weibull distribution functions. The results showed that the maximum mean wind speed is obtained in Katsina as 9.839 m/s while the minimum value of 3.397 m/s is got in Kaduna for all the locations considered. The annual wind power density and energy variation based on the Weibull analysis ranged from 368.92 W/m² and 3224.45 kWh/m²/year to 103.14 W/m² and 901.75 kWh/m²/year in Kano and Potiskum for the maximum and minimum values respectively. Furthermore, Katsina and Kano will be suitable for wind turbine installations while Gusau will only be appropriate for wind energy utilization using taller wind turbine towers whereas Kaduna, Bauchi and Potiskum will be considered marginal for wind power development based of their respective annual mean wind speeds and power densities.     

A pre-feasibility study of wind resources in Kutubdia Island, Bangladesh

Kutubdia is one of the coastal islands in Bangladesh. The wind speed data at the wind monitoring station of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), Kutubdia, located in a built-up area, appears to be low, but at another location, near the seashore, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) finds that the wind energy availability should be reasonably high. Considering the surface roughness, obstacle condition and terrain information of the island, a micro-scale prediction has been done using (100×100 m²) grid cells in the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) to develop monthly and annual wind atlas and also a wind resource map which shows that at 50 m height, the annual wind speed over Kutubdia coast varies from 5.1 to 5.8 m/s. Southern and Eastern sides of Kutubdia appear to be promising for wind electricity generation using large turbines where wind power density at a height of 50 m or higher is found to be above 200 W/m² annually over the year September 1996 to August 1997. It is found that at 30 m height, the coast side of Kutubdia should be sustainable for small turbines.     

Assessment of wind energy in Iran: A review

In this study, a ten minute period measuring wind speed data for year 2007 at 10 m, 30 m and 40 m heights for different places in Iran, has been statistically analyzed to determine the potential of wind power generation. Sixty eight sites have been studied. The objective is to evaluate the most important characteristics of wind energy in the studied sites. The statistical attitudes permit us to estimate the mean wind speed, the wind speed distribution function, the mean wind power density and the wind rose in the site at three different heights. Some local phenomena are also considered in the characterization of the site.     

Evaluating the performance of wind turbines in selected locations in Oyo state,Nigeria

The wind speed distribution and wind energy potential are investigated in three selected locations in Oyo state using wind speed data that span between 12 and 20 years measured at 10 m height. In addition, the performance of selected small to medium size wind turbines in these sites were examined. The annual energy output and capacity factor for these turbines were determined. It was found that the monthly mean wind speeds in Oyo state ranges from 2.85 m/s to 5.20 m/s. While the monthly mean power density varies between 27.08 W/m² and 164.48 W/m², while the annual mean power density is in the range of 67.28 W/m² and 106.60 W/m². Based on annual energy output, wind turbines with cut-in wind speed of about 2.5 m/s and moderate rated wind speeds will be best suited for all the sites.