Feasibility study of harnessing wind energy for turbine installation in province of Yazd in Iran

This paper analyses the wind speed of some major cities in province of Yazd which is located in central part of Iran. Also, the feasibility study of implementing wind turbines to take advantage of wind power is reviewed and then the subject of wind speed and wind potential at different stations is considered. This paper utilized wind speed data over a period of almost 13 years between 1992 and 2005 from 11 stations, to assess the wind power potential at these sites. In this paper, the hourly measured wind speed data at 10 m, 20 m and 40 m height for Yazd province 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 20 m and 40 m. The results showed that most of the stations have annual average wind speed of less than 4.5 m/s which is considered as unacceptable for installation of the wind turbines. City of Herat has higher wind energy potential with annual wind speed average of 5.05 m/s and 6.86 m/s, respectively, at height of 10 m and 40 m above ground level (AGL). This site is a good candidate for remote area wind energy applications. But some more information is required, because the collected data for Herat is only for 2004. Cities of Aghda with 3.96 m/s, Gariz with 3.95 m/s, and Maybod with 3.83 m/s annual wind speed average at height of 10 m above ground level are also able to harness wind by installing small wind turbines. The Tabas and Bafgh sites wind speed data indicated that the two sites have lower annual wind speed averages between 1.56 m/s and 2.22 m/s at 10 m height. The monthly and annual wind speeds at different heights have been studied to ensure optimum selection of wind turbine installation for different stations in Yazd.     

Electricity generation and wind potential assessment at Hurghada, Egypt

A technical and economic assessment has been made of the generation of electricity using wind turbines at one of the most promising wind sites in Egypt: Hurghada. In this paper, we used wind data recorded over 23 years for this site. The WASP program was used to calculate the values of wind speed frequency for the station, their seasonally values have been estimated and compared with measured data.Weibull parameters and the power law coefficient (n) for all seasons at different heights (10–70 m) has been estimated and used to describe the distribution and behavior of seasonal wind speed and their frequencies at Hurghada. The monthly and annual values of wind potential at a height of 70 m were obtained by extrapolation of the 10 m data from the results of our previous article [Ahmed Shata AS, Hanitsch R. The potential of electricity generation on the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt. Renew Energy 2006;31:1597–615] using the power law.Also, the monthly plant load factor (PLF) has been estimated, which is used to determine the expected annual energy output of a wind energy conversion system (WECS).Variation of annual capacity factor with rated wind speed for 10 different wind turbines has been studied. The lower the rated speed for the WECS of the same height, the higher will be the capacity factor values. The expected electrical energy cost of kWh produced by the wind turbine (Repower MM82) with a capacity of 2 MW considered for Hurghada station was found to be less than 1.5 € cent/kWh.     

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.     

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.     

Design and implementation of wind energy system in Saudi Arabia

This paper introduces an accurate procedure to choose the best site from many sites and suitable wind turbines for these sites depending on the minimum price of kWh generated (Energy Cost Figure (ECF)) from wind energy system. In this paper a new proposed computer program has been introduced to perform all the calculations and optimization required to accurately design the wind energy system and matching between sites and wind turbines. Some of cost calculations of energy methods have been introduced and compared to choose the most suitable method. The data for five sites in Saudi Arabia and hundred wind turbines have been used to choose the best site and the optimum wind turbine for each site. These sites are Yanbo, Dhahran, Dhulom, Riyadh, and Qaisumah. One hundred wind turbines have been used to choose the best one for each site. This program is built in a generic form which allows it to be used with unlimited number of sites and wind turbines in all over the world. The program is written by using Visual Fortran and it is verified with simple calculation in Excel. The paper showed that the best site is Dhahran and the suitable wind turbine for this site is KMW-ERNO with 5.85 Cents/kWh. The worst site to install wind energy system is Riyadh with minimum price of kWh of 12.81 Cents/kWh in case of using GE Energy 2 wind turbine.     

Prospect of wind–PV-battery hybrid power system as an alternative to grid extension in Bangladesh

A pre-feasibility of wind-PV-battery hybrid system has been performed for a small community in the east-southern part of Bangladesh. Solar radiation resources have been assessed from other meteorological parameters like sunshine duration and cloud cover as measured radiation data were not available at the site. The predicted monthly averaged daily global radiation over Chittagong is 4.36 kWh/m²/day. Measured wind speed at the site varies from 3 m/s to 5 m/s. For few months and hours the speed is below the cut in speeds of the available turbines in market. The hybrid system analysis has showed that for a small community consuming 53,317 kWh/year the cost energy is 0.47USD/kWh with 10% annual capacity of shortage and produces 89,151 kWh/year in which 53% electricity comes from wind and the remaining from solar energy. The sensitivity analysis showed that the hybrid system for the community is compatible with the 8 km–12 km grid extension depending on small variation of solar radiation and wind speed over the district whereas the proposed site is more away from the upper limit. Such a hybrid system will reduce about 25 tCO₂/yr green house gases (GHG) emission in the local atmosphere.     

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 energy potential estimation and micrositting on Izmir Institute of Technology Campus, Turkey

The aim of this study was to predict the wind energy content over the campus area of Izmir Institute of Technology. The wind data were collected at 10 and 30 m mast heights for a period of 16 months. Mean wind speeds were 7.03 and 8.14 m/s at 10 and 30 m mast heights, respectively. The ‘WAsP’ and ‘WindPRO’ softwares were used for the wind statistics and energy calculations. Suitable sites were selected according to the created wind power and energy maps. Wind turbines with nominal powers between 600 and 1500 kW were established for annual energy production calculations and best fitted ones were used for the micrositting.     

Evaluation of electricity generation and energy cost of wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) in Central Turkey

The negative effects of non-renewable fossil fuels have forced scientists to draw attention to clean energy sources which are both environmentally more suitable and renewable. Although Turkey enjoys fairly high wind energy potential, an investigation and exploitation of this source is still below the desired level. In this study which is a preliminary study on wind energy cost in Central Anatolian-Turkey, the wind energy production using time-series approach and the economic evaluation of various wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) enjoying the 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 150 kW rated power size using the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) method for the seven different locations in Central Turkey were estimated. In addition, effects of escalation ratio of operation and maintenance cost and annual mean speed on LCOE are taken into account. The wind speed data for a period between 2000 and 2006 years were taken from Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS). According to the result of the calculations, it is shown that the WECS of capacity 150 kW produce the energy output 120,978 kWh per year in the Case-A (Pinarbasi) for hub height 30 m and also the LCOE varies in the range of 0.29–30.0 $/kWh for all WECS considered.     

Wind resource assessment of the Jordanian southern region

Wind data in terms of annual, seasonal and diurnal variations at Queira, which is located in the southern part of Jordan was studied and analyzed. For this purpose, long-term wind speed data for a period of 12 years (1990–2001) was used. The analysis showed that the seasonal and diurnal pattern of wind speed matches the electricity load pattern of the location. Higher winds of the order of 6 m/s and more were observed during both the summer months of the year (May–August) and peak hours (1100–1500) of the day. The wind duration availability is discussed as the number of hours during which the wind remained in certain wind speed intervals. The possibility of electricity generation from wind power at Queira was carried out using three different wind energy systems of sizes 100, 22 kW rated power, and a wind farm consisting of 25 small wind turbines; each of 4 kW rated power with hub heights of 20, 30, and 40 m. The energy production analysis showed higher production from the wind farm with a 20 m hub height than the production from the other two wind turbines. Similarly, the cost analysis showed that the lowest generation costs of 1 kWh were obtained for the wind farm compared to the other two wind turbines. The possibility of water pumping using the wind farm was also investigated. The results showed that water pumping using wind turbines is an appropriate alternative for the photovoltaic water pumping in the region.     

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.     

Energy assessment of the first wind farm section of Sidi Daoud, Tunisia

Tunisia is one of the Mediterranean countries having windy enough areas, in particular along the coasts. During the past years, Tunisia has embarked upon wind energy programs. The first wind farm in Tunisia was brought into service in January 2000 in the region of Sidi Daoud: it is the first section of the farm that consists of 32 aerogenerators (Made AE-32) of 10.56 MW capacity.In the present study, the wind energy potential of the Sidi Daoud site is statistically analyzed based on 5-year measured hourly time-series wind-speed data (2000–2004). Weibull and Rayleigh parameters at a height of 30 m have been estimated and used to describe the distribution and behavior of annual wind speeds and their frequencies at site.Also, the usable and recoverable energies have been calculated, which are used to determine the energetic and aerodynamic characteristics of aerogenerator Made AE-32 installed on site.The monthly and annual values of use factor (UF) of the first section of Sidi Daoud wind farm have been estimated.     

Economics of Wind turbine as an energy fuel saver – A case study for remote application in oman

This paper presents a study carried out to investigate the economics of wind turbine as an energy fuel saver. The load and the wind data is taken from a remote agricultural research station in Oman. Presently, the station is provided with electricity from diesel-engine generating units. The annual peak load and minimum load recorded at the site is 130 kW and 28 kW respectively. The annual average wind speed at the site is 5.7 m/s. A 50-kW wind turbine is selected to demonstrate the economic feasibility of the turbine as a fuel saver. The results show that wind energy utilization is an attractive option with total specific cost of the selected wind turbine ranges between 7.4 and 8.45 ¢/kWh at 7.55% discount rate comparing to diesel generation operating cost of 14.3 ¢/kWh, considering the capital cost of diesel units as sunk. The simple payback period of the turbine is between 5.1 and 5.4 years and discounted payback between 6.7 and 8.0 years.     

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.     

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 resource assessment of the Southern Appalachian Ridges in the Southeastern United States

The analysis of wind data collected throughout the Southern Appalachian Mountain region of the Southeastern US is presented. Data were collected at 50 m above ground level on nine ridge top sites between 2002 and 2005. Monthly average wind speeds, power densities, wind sheers, and turbulence intensities, along with monthly maximum gusts, are presented. Measured annual average wind speeds are compared to AWS TrueWind predictions. Diurnal variations in wind speed are also reported. Annual wind roses for each site are presented. Annual wind speeds range from 5.5 to 7.4 m/s with the highest annual average wind speeds found on ridges near the northern TN–NC border. A 20% winter and nighttime enhancement of the wind speed was observed. The prevailing wind is from the westerly directions. The estimated annual energy outputs from a small wind farm consisting of fifteen 1.5 MW GE turbines range from 50 to 75 MkWh, and estimated capacity factors range from 25% to 35%. This analysis suggests that ridges in the region are suitable for utility-scale wind development.     

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.     

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.     

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.