A preliminary study of wind power potential in Bahrain

Several attempts have been made over the last ten years to evaluate the wind speed and the power potential in Bahrain. From our analysis of the wind data, an important characteristic is revealed in that the wind speed in summer months are more than that in winter months. This characteristic is opposite to the prevailing wind speed parameters in most European countries. In Bahrain the mean hourly wind speed can reach up to 7 m s−1 during the summer months compared to 3.8 m s−1 during the winter. This paper also gives a detailed analysis of hourly wind speed variation with atmospheric pressure. The maximum and minimum mean power available each month are calculated as a function of the speed input. An evaluation was made of the kinetic energy density in kWh m2 as a function of the wind speed of the 12 month period of the year 1990, and the output data were compared with the corresponding data for the period 1985 to 1987. The probability distribution function f(v) dv of wind speed together with the duration function T(v) were evaluated for winter and summer of the two periods. Weibull distribution was presented through calculating the scale parameter C(m s−1) and the dimensionless shape parameter K of the Weibull function. It appears from our analysis that the expected energy from the wind in Bahrain lies in the medium range which could be used as an alternative source of energy specially in the summer months when the energy is most needed. However, an immediate application seems to be limited to water pumping and electric power generation using relatively small wind generators.