Wind energy as a potential generation source at Ras Benas, Egypt
Ahmed Shata Ahmed
Physics Department, Faculty of Science in Port Said, Suez Canal University, Egypt
Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2167
2. Description of wind data measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2168
3. Statistical analysis model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2169
4. Monthly and seasonal Weibull parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2170
5. Potential power resource. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2170
6. Wind turbine efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2171
7. Applications of electricity generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2171
8. Economical evaluation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2172
9. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2172
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2172
1. Introduction
Today, wind energy is widely used to produce electricity in
many countries such as Denmark, Spain, Germany, United States,
and India. Total wind power installed in Europe that is equivalent
to 69% of the worldwide energy generated capacity, is 40 GW at the
end of 2005. It is expected that the installed capacity in Europe will
have reached 70 GW by the end of 2010 [1].
Electrical energy in Egypt is mainly produced by fossil fuels (oil
and natural gas) and hydropower. Because of abundant energy
resources, Egypt is heavily dependent on exported oil and gas [2].
Currently, Egypt produces electricity using wind farms at Zafarana,
Gulf of El-Zayt and Abu Darag stations, which are located in the
northern part along the Red Sea. Their electricity production
presented to the country and due to an increase of needs Egypt
exported these electricity to Jordan [3].
In our previous article [4], the authors made a technical
assessment of wind power for 7 different sites located from north
to south along the Red Sea in Egypt. Ras Benas station was one of
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 2167–2173
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Received 7 January 2010
Accepted 2 March 2010
Keywords:
Wind speed
Weibull parameter’s
Wind turbine efficiency parameter
Electricity generation costs
ABSTRACT
Analysis of the wind characteristics in Ras Benas city located on the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt using
measured data (wind, pressure and temperature) and Weibull function were made.
Statistical analysis model to evaluate the wind energy potential was introduced. According to the
power calculations done for the site, the annual mean wind density is 315 kW/m
2
at a height of 70 m
above ground level. This station has a huge wind energy potential for electricity generation, especially
during spring and summer seasons, comparing with some European countries.
In addition, the monthly wind turbine efficiency parameter (
h
monthly
) has been calculated by using a
commercial wind turbine 1 MW with 70 m hub height to help designers and users in evaluating the
potentialities and choosing the suitable wind turbine for the considered site. The use of wind turbine
with capacity greater than 1000 kW at this station was recommended.
Ras Benas station was selected to install 30 MW-wind farm consists of 20 commercial wind turbines
(Nordex S 77) with hub heights and Rotor diameter were 100 and 77 m, respectively. This site has annual
wind speed more than 9.8 m/s at 100 m height and enough area to locate these turbines.
The estimated energy production using WASP Program of these wind farm was 130 GWh/year.
Furthermore, the production costs was found 1.3
s
cent/kWh, which is a competition price at the wind
energy world market.
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E-mail address: ahmedshata72@hotmail.com.
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doi:10.1016/j.rser.2010.03.006