Evaluations of Wind Speed Distribution and Wind Power Potential over Ethiopia (A case of Ambo)

Research Article

Evaluations of Wind Speed Distribution and Wind Power Potential over Ethiopia (A case of Ambo)

Natei Ermias Benti, Ashenafi Abebe Asfaw

Corresponding Author : Natei Ermias Benti,

College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Center for Environmental Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Email ID : natei.ermias@aau.edu.et

Received : 2017-09-11 Accepted : 2017-10-09 Published : 2017-10-09

Abstract : Renewable energy sources gained significant attention; due to several climate changes caused by greenhouse gases and to increasing need for clean energy sources, wind energy is one of the most promising energy sources in the future. This study investigates the wind power potential of Ambo area, a city locatedin West Shewa Zone of Oromia Region, West of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia using real wind speed data. A 6-year wind speed data (2010-2015) measured at 10 m height was obtained from the National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopian and statistically analysed. The result of the study showed that Ambo has an average wind speed of 3.2 m/s at 10 m height (5.0 m/s and 6.2 m/s at extrapolated30 and 50 m heights, respectively) with maximum value of 4.5 m/s in February and the lowest wind speed was recorded during the months of June and July (2.0 m/s for each months). The corresponding mean wind power density at 10 m, 30 m and 50 m heights are 26.0, 97.3 and 179.2 W/m2, respectively, for the whole year and this makes the site to fall under Class 2 (Marginal) of the International System of Wind Classification. The monthly values of Weibull shape parameter k ranged from 2.19 to 3.20 with an average value of 2.80. While the monthly values of the Weibull scale parameter c were in the range of 2.28-5.02 m/s, with an average value of 3.64 m/s.Weibull probability density function and cumulative frequency showed that the wind speed tends to distribute around the mean value most of the time. It was also concluded that the site studied was not suitable for electric wind application in large-scale. It was found that the wind potential of the region could be adequate for non-grid connected electrical and mechanical applications, such as wind generators, battery charging and water pumping as well as agricultural applications.

Keywords : Weibull Distribution, Wind Potential, Wind Power Density, Wind Speed, Ambo, Ethiopia.

Citation : Natei Ermias Benti et al. (2017). Evaluations of Wind Speed Distribution and Wind Power Potential over Ethiopia (A case of Ambo). J. of Physical and Chemical Sciences.V5I4.02. DOI : 10.5281/zenodo.1005182

Copyright : © 2017 Natei Ermias Benti . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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