Wind power analysis and site matching of wind turbine generators in Kingdom of Bahrain

In this paper, the hourly measured wind speed data for years 2003–2005 at 10 m, 30 m and 60 m height for Kingdom of Bahrain have been statically analyzed to determine the potential of wind power generation. Extrapolation of the 10 m data, using the Power Law, has been used to determine the wind data at heights of 30 m and 60 m. Weibull distribution parameters have been estimated and compared annually and on monthly bases using two methods; the graphical method and the another method, designated in this paper as approximated method, which depends on the standard deviation and average wind speed. The maximum power density for 10 m, 30 m and 60 m heights were found to be 164.33 W/m², 624.17 W/m² and 1171.18 W/m² in February, respectively while the minimum power density were 65.33 W/m², 244.33 W/m² and 454.53 W/m² in October, respectively. The average annual wind power density was found to be 114.54 W/m² for 10 m height, 433.29 W/m² for 30 m height and 816.70 W/m² for 60 m height. Weibull probability function, using Weibull parameters estimated from the approximated method, has shown to provide more accurate prediction of average wind speed and average power density than the graphical method. In addition, the site matching of wind turbine generators at 30 m and 60 m heights has been investigated by estimating the capacity factors of various commercially available wind turbines generators. The monthly and annual variation of capacity factors have been studied to ensure optimum selection of wind turbine generators.     

Wind energy evaluation for electricity generation using WECS in seven selected locations in Nigeria

This paper statistically examine wind characteristics from seven meteorological stations within the North-West (NW) geo-political region of Nigeria using 36-year (1971–2007) wind speed data measured at 10 m height subjected to 2-parameter Weibull analysis. It is observed that the monthly mean wind speed in this region ranges from 2.64 m/s to 9.83 m/s. The minimum monthly mean wind speed was recorded in Yelwa in the month of November while the maximum value is observed in Katsina in the month of June. The annual wind speeds range from 3.61 m/s in Yelwa to 7.77 m/s in Kano. It is further shown that Sokoto, Katsina and Kano are suitable locations for wind turbine installations with annual mean wind speeds of 7.61, 7.45 and 7.77 m/s, respectively. The results also suggest that Gusau and Zaria should be applicable for wind energy development using taller wind turbine towers due to their respective annual mean speeds and mean power density while Kaduna is considered as marginal. In addition, higher wind speeds were recorded in the morning hours than afternoon periods for this region. A technical electricity generation assessment using four commercial wind turbines were carried out. The results indicate that, while the highest annual power is obtained with Nordex N80–2.5 MW as 14233.53 kW/year in Kano, the lowest is in Yelwa having 618.06 kW/year for Suzlon S52. It is further shown that the highest capacity factor is 64.95% for Suzlon S52–600 kW in Kano while the lowest is 3.82% for Vestas V80–2 MW in Yelwa.     

Evaluation of wind energy potential and electricity generation at six locations in Turkey

In this study, wind characteristics were analyzed using the wind speed data collected of the six meteorological stations in Turkey during the period 2000–2006. The annual mean wind speed of the six stations (Erzurum, Elaz??, Bingöl, Kars, Manisa and Ni?de) is obtained as 8.7, 8.5, 5.9, 6.9, 7.4 and 8.0 m/s at 10 m height, respectively. The mean annual value of Weibull shape parameter k is between 1.71 and 1.96 while the annual value of scale parameter c is between 6.81 and 9.71 m/s. A technical assessment has been made of electricity generation from four wind turbines having capacity of (600 kW, 1000 kW, 1500 kW and 2000 kW). The yearly energy output and capacity factor for the four different turbines were calculated.     

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.     

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%.     

On wind speed pattern and energy potential in Nigeria

The aim of this paper is to review wind speed distribution and wind energy availability in Nigeria and discuss the potential of using this resource for generation of wind power in the country. The power output from a wind turbine is strongly dependent on the wind speed and accurate information about the wind data in a targeted location is essential. The annual mean wind speeds in Nigeria range from about 2 to 9.5 m/s and the annual power density range between 3.40 and 520 kW/m² based on recent reported data. The trend shows that wind speeds are low in the south and gradually increases to relatively high speeds in the north. The areas that are suitable for exploitation of wind energy for electricity generation as well as for water pumping were identified. Also some of the challenges facing the development of wind energy and suggested solutions were presented.     

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.     

Investigation of wind characteristics and assessment of wind-generation potentiality in Uludağ-Bursa,Turkey

In this study, wind characteristic and wind energy potential of the Uluda? skinning which is located in the south Marmara region of Turkey were analyzed using the wind speed data collected during the period 2000–2006. The wind speed distribution curves of Uluda?-Bursa were obtained by using the Weibull and Rayleigh probability density functions. The average Weibull shape parameter k and scale parameter c were found as 1.78 and 7.97 m/s for the period 2000–2006. The yearly mean wind speed in Uluda?-Bursa was obtained as 7.08 m/s for period of 7 years. A technical and economic assessment has been made of electricity generation from four wind turbines having capacity of (600, 1000, 1500 and 2000 kW). The yearly energy output, capacity factor and the electrical energy cost of kW h produced by the three different turbines were calculated. The cost of each kW h produced using the chosen wind turbines in Uluda?-Bursa were found to between 0.255 and 0.306 $/kW h.     

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.     

The application of artificial neural networks to mapping of wind speed profile for energy application in Nigeria

Modelling and prediction of wind speed are essential prerequisites in the sitting and sizing of wind power applications. The profile of wind speed in Nigeria is modelled using artificial neural network (ANN). The ANN model consists of 3-layered, feed-forward, back-propagation network with different configurations, designed using the Neural Toolbox for MATLAB. The monthly mean daily wind speed data monitored at 10 m above ground level for a period of 20 years (1983–2003) for 28 ground stations operated by the Nigeria Meteorological Services (NIMET) were used as training (18 stations) and testing (10 stations) dataset. The geographical parameters (latitude, longitude and altitude) and the month of the year were used as input data, while the monthly mean wind speed was used as the output of the network. The optimum network architecture with minimum Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 8.9% and correlation coefficient (r) between the predicted and the measured wind speed values of 0.9380 was obtained. The predicted monthly wind speed ranged from 0.9–13.1 m/s with an annual mean of 4.7 m/s. The model predicted wind speed values are given in the form of monthly maps, which can be easily used for assessment of wind energy potential for different locations within Nigeria.     

Evaluation of wind energy potential and electricity generation on the coast of Mediterranean Sea in Egypt

Wind data from 10 coastal meteorological stations along the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt have been used for statistical analysis to determine the wind characteristics. It was found that three stations show annual mean wind speed greater than 5.0 m/s. In order to identify the Weibull parameters for all stations two different methods were applied.The methodical analysis for all stations was done for the corrected monthly and annual mean wind power at a height of 10 m, over roughness class 0 (water). The recommended correlation equation was also stated for Mediterranean Sea zone in Egypt. Also the wind power densities for heights of 30–50 m were calculated for all stations. Three of them are the best locations, namely: Sidi Barrani, Mersa Matruh, and El Dabaa, where these contiguous stations have great abundantly wind energy density.A technical assessment has been made of the electricity generation using WASP program for two commercial turbines (300 kW and 1 MW) considering at the three promising sites. The wind turbine of capacity 1 MW was found to produce an energy output per year of 2718 MW h at El Dabaa station, and the production costs was found 2€ cent/kW h.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Feasibility of large scale offshore wind power for Hong Kong — a preliminary study

This paper investigates the potential and the feasibility of offshore wind energy for Hong Kong. The 1998 wind data taken from an island were analysed. The wind resource yields an annual mean wind speed of 6.6 m/s and mean wind power density of 310 W/m². With commercially available 1.65 MW wind turbines placed on the whole of Hong Kong’s territorial waters, the maximum electricity generating potential from offshore wind is estimated to be 25 TWh which is about 72% of the total 1998 annual electricity consumption. However, potential is significantly reduced if other usages of the sea such as shipping are considered. A hypothetical offshore wind farm of 1038 MW capacity is then sited on the East-side waters. The extreme wind and wave climates, as well as the seasonal variation of wind power and demand are examined. The electricity generation costs are estimated and compared with the local retail tariff. Initial results indicate the wind farm is economically viable and technically feasible.     

Electricity generation from the first wind farm situated at Ras Ghareb, Egypt

Egypt is one of the Red Sea and Mediterranean countries having windy enough areas, in particular along the coasts. The coastal location Ras Ghareb on the Red Sea has been investigated in order to know the wind power density available for electricity generation. To account for the wind potential variations with height, a new simple estimating procedure was introduced. This study has explicitly demonstrated the presence of high wind power density nearly 900 kW/m² per year at 100 m of altitude for this region. Indeed, the seasonal wind powers available are comparable to and sometimes higher than the power density in many European cities for wind electricity applications like Vindeby (Denmark) and also America.New technical analysis for wind turbine characteristics have been made using three types of commercial wind turbines possessing the same rotor diameter and rated power to choice the best wind machine suitable for Ras Ghareb station. As per the decreasing the cut-in wind speed for the wind turbine used, the availability factor increases for a given generator. That it could produce more energy output throughout the year for the location.The aim of this research, was to predict the electrical energy production with the cost analysis of a wind farm 150 MW total power installed at Ras Ghareb area using 100 wind turbines model (Repower MD 77) with 1.5 MW rated power. Additionally, this paper developed the methodology for estimating the price of each kWh electricity from the wind farms. Results show that this wind park will produce maximum energy of 716 GWh/year. The expected specific cost equal to 1.5 € cent/kWh is still less than and very competitive price with that produced from the wind farms in Great Britain and Germany and at the international markets of wind power. The important result derived from this study encourages several wind parks with hundreds of megawatts can be constructed at Ras Ghareb region.     

A study of Weibull parameters using long-term wind observations

The two parameters of a Weibull density distribution function were calculated for three different locations; a city area, an extremely exposed area in a city centre and an open sea area in Hong Kong. A long-term data source, consisting of thirty years (1968–1997) of hourly mean wind data, was adopted and analysed. Based on these data, it was found that the numerical values of the shape and scale parameters for these weather stations varied over a wide range. The shape parameter varied from 1.63 to 2.03 and the scale parameter ranged from 2.76 to 8.92. The yearly Weibull probability density function distribution for the city area indicated that the wind data could be grouped into two distinct periods, 1968–1981 and 1982–1997. Seasonal Weibull distribution for the three locations were compared and wider distributions were observed in the more open areas.     

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 energy and assessment of wind energy potential in Turkey

In this study, the potential of wind energy and assessment of wind energy systems in Turkey were studied. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the wind energy potential and future wind conversion systems project in Turkey. The wind energy potential of various regions was investigated; and the exploitation of the wind energy in Turkey was discussed. Various regions were analyzed taking into account the wind data measured as hourly time series in the windy locations. The wind data used in this study were taken from Electrical Power Resources Survey and Development Administration (EIEI) for the year 2010. This paper reviews the assessment of wind energy in Turkey as of the end of May 2010 including wind energy applications. Turkey's total theoretically available potential for wind power is around 131,756.40 MW and sea wind power 17,393.20 MW annually, according to TUREB (TWEA). When Turkey has 1.5 MW nominal installed wind energy capacity in 1998, then this capacity has increased to 1522.20 MW in 2010. Wind power plant with a total capacity of 1522.20 MW will be commissioned 2166.65 MW in December 2011.