IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v35y2010i12p2874-2880.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A statistical investigation of wind characteristics and wind energy potential based on the Weibull and Rayleigh models in Rwanda

Author

Listed:
  • Safari, Bonfils
  • Gasore, Jimmy

Abstract

A wind energy system converts the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be harnessed for practical uses and transform the economy of rural areas where access to water and electricity is very restricted and industry is almost nonexistent in most of the developing countries like Rwanda. Assessing wind power potential for a location is an imperative requirement before making a decision for the installation of windmills or a wind electric generator and evaluating plans for relating projects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential of wind resource in Rwanda and to constitute a database for the users of the wind power. A time series of hourly daily measured wind speed and wind direction for the period between 1974 and 1993 on five main Rwandan meteorological stations was provided by the National Meteorology Department. Statistical methods applying Weibull and Rayleigh distribution were presented to evaluate the wind speed characteristics and the wind power potential at a height of 10m above ground level using hourly monthly average data. Those characteristics were extrapolated for higher levels in altitude. The results give a global picture of the distribution of the wind potential in different locations of Rwanda.

Suggested Citation

  • Safari, Bonfils & Gasore, Jimmy, 2010. "A statistical investigation of wind characteristics and wind energy potential based on the Weibull and Rayleigh models in Rwanda," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2874-2880.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:35:y:2010:i:12:p:2874-2880
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2010.04.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148110001990
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2010.04.032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Şahin, Ahmet Z. & Aksakal, Ahmet, 1998. "Wind power energy potential at the northeastern region of Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 435-440.
    2. Weisser, D, 2003. "A wind energy analysis of Grenada: an estimation using the ‘Weibull’ density function," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 1803-1812.
    3. Tar, Károly, 2008. "Some statistical characteristics of monthly average wind speed at various heights," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 1712-1724, August.
    4. Lun, Isaac Y.F & Lam, Joseph C, 2000. "A study of Weibull parameters using long-term wind observations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 145-153.
    5. Joselin Herbert, G.M. & Iniyan, S. & Sreevalsan, E. & Rajapandian, S., 2007. "A review of wind energy technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(6), pages 1117-1145, August.
    6. Elamouri, M. & Ben Amar, F., 2008. "Wind energy potential in Tunisia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 758-768.
    7. Gökçek, Murat & Bayülken, Ahmet & Bekdemir, Şükrü, 2007. "Investigation of wind characteristics and wind energy potential in Kirklareli, Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1739-1752.
    8. Touré, Siaka, 2005. "Investigations on the Eigen‐coordinates method for the 2‐parameter weibull distribution of wind speed," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 511-521.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. El Alimi, Souheil & Maatallah, Taher & Dahmouni, Anouar Wajdi & Ben Nasrallah, Sassi, 2012. "Modeling and investigation of the wind resource in the gulf of Tunis, Tunisia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 5466-5478.
    2. Safari, Bonfils, 2011. "Modeling wind speed and wind power distributions in Rwanda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 925-935, February.
    3. Carta, J.A. & Ramírez, P. & Velázquez, S., 2009. "A review of wind speed probability distributions used in wind energy analysis: Case studies in the Canary Islands," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 933-955, June.
    4. Lepore, Antonio & Palumbo, Biagio & Pievatolo, Antonio, 2020. "A Bayesian approach for site-specific wind rose prediction," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 691-702.
    5. Keyhani, A. & Ghasemi-Varnamkhasti, M. & Khanali, M. & Abbaszadeh, R., 2010. "An assessment of wind energy potential as a power generation source in the capital of Iran, Tehran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 188-201.
    6. Islam, M.R. & Saidur, R. & Rahim, N.A., 2011. "Assessment of wind energy potentiality at Kudat and Labuan, Malaysia using Weibull distribution function," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 985-992.
    7. Murthy, K.S.R. & Rahi, O.P., 2017. "A comprehensive review of wind resource assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1320-1342.
    8. Christopher Jung, 2016. "High Spatial Resolution Simulation of Annual Wind Energy Yield Using Near-Surface Wind Speed Time Series," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-20, May.
    9. Maatallah, Taher & Ghodhbane, Nahed & Ben Nasrallah, Sassi, 2016. "Assessment viability for hybrid energy system (PV/wind/diesel) with storage in the northernmost city in Africa, Bizerte, Tunisia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1639-1652.
    10. Alain Ulazia & Ander Nafarrate & Gabriel Ibarra-Berastegi & Jon Sáenz & Sheila Carreno-Madinabeitia, 2019. "The Consequences of Air Density Variations over Northeastern Scotland for Offshore Wind Energy Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    11. Fazelpour, Farivar & Soltani, Nima & Soltani, Sina & Rosen, Marc A., 2015. "Assessment of wind energy potential and economics in the north-western Iranian cities of Tabriz and Ardabil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 87-99.
    12. Ulazia, Alain & Sáenz, Jon & Ibarra-Berastegi, Gabriel & González-Rojí, Santos J. & Carreno-Madinabeitia, Sheila, 2019. "Global estimations of wind energy potential considering seasonal air density changes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    13. Wang, Jianzhou & Qin, Shanshan & Jin, Shiqiang & Wu, Jie, 2015. "Estimation methods review and analysis of offshore extreme wind speeds and wind energy resources," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 26-42.
    14. Jiang, Haiyan & Wang, Jianzhou & Wu, Jie & Geng, Wei, 2017. "Comparison of numerical methods and metaheuristic optimization algorithms for estimating parameters for wind energy potential assessment in low wind regions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1199-1217.
    15. Shu, Z.R. & Li, Q.S. & Chan, P.W., 2015. "Investigation of offshore wind energy potential in Hong Kong based on Weibull distribution function," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 362-373.
    16. Diaf, S. & Notton, G., 2013. "Evaluation of electricity generation and energy cost of wind energy conversion systems in southern Algeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 379-390.
    17. Olatayo, Kunle Ibukun & Wichers, J. Harry & Stoker, Piet W., 2018. "Energy and economic performance of small wind energy systems under different climatic conditions of South Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 376-392.
    18. Abul Kalam Azad & Mohammad Golam Rasul & Talal Yusaf, 2014. "Statistical Diagnosis of the Best Weibull Methods for Wind Power Assessment for Agricultural Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-30, May.
    19. Belabes, B. & Youcefi, A. & Guerri, O. & Djamai, M. & Kaabeche, A., 2015. "Evaluation of wind energy potential and estimation of cost using wind energy turbines for electricity generation in north of Algeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1245-1255.
    20. Kwami Senam A. Sedzro & Adekunlé Akim Salami & Pierre Akuété Agbessi & Mawugno Koffi Kodjo, 2022. "Comparative Study of Wind Energy Potential Estimation Methods for Wind Sites in Togo and Benin (West Sub-Saharan Africa)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-28, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:35:y:2010:i:12:p:2874-2880. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.