Investigation of wind characteristics and wind energy technical assessment in Kerman, Iran

Abstract

Wind data collected of the three synoptic sites for the period of Jul 2006 to Jun 2008 at the height of 40 m has been used to study the wind characteristics, monthly and annual wind energy potential for three agricultural districts in Kerman ( 30 15 N, 56 58 E o / o / ), Iran. Two statistical methods (Meteorological and Weibull) have been applied to determine the wind characteristics. Wind energy density, mean wind speeds and wind speed directions have been investigated. A technical assessment has been done and the electricity generation from five different wind turbines having capacity of (26 kW, 100 kW, 300 kW, 600 kW and 660 kW) has been calculated. The results show that all the locations studied are not suitable for electric wind application in a large-scale.