Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi government has announced an ambitious plan to generate 54 GW (including 41 GW of solar power, geothermal, waste-to-energy and 9 GW of wind) of power from renewable energy sources by 2032with an investment amounting to $108.9 billion. Due to Saudi Arabia’s large land area and the vast varia...

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Main Authors: Mukhtar M. Salah, Ahmed G. Abo-khalil, R.P. Praveen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-02-01
Series:Journal of King Saud University: Engineering Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101836391930368X
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author Mukhtar M. Salah
Ahmed G. Abo-khalil
R.P. Praveen
author_facet Mukhtar M. Salah
Ahmed G. Abo-khalil
R.P. Praveen
author_sort Mukhtar M. Salah
collection DOAJ
description The Saudi government has announced an ambitious plan to generate 54 GW (including 41 GW of solar power, geothermal, waste-to-energy and 9 GW of wind) of power from renewable energy sources by 2032with an investment amounting to $108.9 billion. Due to Saudi Arabia’s large land area and the vast variability of wind speed over regions and seasons, it is very important to accurately assess the potential of wind resources in the region so as to harness maximum power output. Wind data sourced from 12 meteorological stations across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have been used to investigate the potential of wind power generation for different locations across the Kingdom. The mean wind speed of several sites in the northern, central and southern parts of KSA at a height of 10 m and 100 m have been used to calculate the Weibull parameters, plot the frequency distribution of the wind in the region, and to calculate the power density. The measured wind speed at 10 m is used to calculate the wind speed at other heights numerically. Moment, Least square and maximum likelihood estimation methods are used to obtain wind Weibull distribution parameters. The power density for all sites is then calculated using the standard wind power equation. In addition, the monthly and annual mean wind energy is calculated to assess the suitability of each sites for the installation of different types of wind turbines.
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spelling doaj.art-a0b4368af88d4a709556b239f787f5cf2022-12-21T19:42:29ZengElsevierJournal of King Saud University: Engineering Sciences1018-36392021-02-01332119128Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi ArabiaMukhtar M. Salah0Ahmed G. Abo-khalil1R.P. Praveen2College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Almajmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia; College of Science, Majmaah University, AlZulfi, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author.College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Almajmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia; College of Engineering, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, EgyptCollege of Engineering, Majmaah University, Almajmaah 11952, Saudi ArabiaThe Saudi government has announced an ambitious plan to generate 54 GW (including 41 GW of solar power, geothermal, waste-to-energy and 9 GW of wind) of power from renewable energy sources by 2032with an investment amounting to $108.9 billion. Due to Saudi Arabia’s large land area and the vast variability of wind speed over regions and seasons, it is very important to accurately assess the potential of wind resources in the region so as to harness maximum power output. Wind data sourced from 12 meteorological stations across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have been used to investigate the potential of wind power generation for different locations across the Kingdom. The mean wind speed of several sites in the northern, central and southern parts of KSA at a height of 10 m and 100 m have been used to calculate the Weibull parameters, plot the frequency distribution of the wind in the region, and to calculate the power density. The measured wind speed at 10 m is used to calculate the wind speed at other heights numerically. Moment, Least square and maximum likelihood estimation methods are used to obtain wind Weibull distribution parameters. The power density for all sites is then calculated using the standard wind power equation. In addition, the monthly and annual mean wind energy is calculated to assess the suitability of each sites for the installation of different types of wind turbines.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101836391930368XRenewable energyEnergy efficiencySolarWindOilSustainability
spellingShingle Mukhtar M. Salah
Ahmed G. Abo-khalil
R.P. Praveen
Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi Arabia
Journal of King Saud University: Engineering Sciences
Renewable energy
Energy efficiency
Solar
Wind
Oil
Sustainability
title Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi Arabia
title_full Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi Arabia
title_fullStr Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi Arabia
title_full_unstemmed Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi Arabia
title_short Wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in Saudi Arabia
title_sort wind speed characteristics and energy potential for selected sites in saudi arabia
topic Renewable energy
Energy efficiency
Solar
Wind
Oil
Sustainability
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101836391930368X
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AT ahmedgabokhalil windspeedcharacteristicsandenergypotentialforselectedsitesinsaudiarabia
AT rppraveen windspeedcharacteristicsandenergypotentialforselectedsitesinsaudiarabia