Wind Speed Weibull Model Identification in Oman, and Computed Normalized Annual Energy Production (NAEP) From Wind Turbines Based on Data From Weather Stations

Abstract

Using observation records of wind speeds from weather stations in the Sultanate of Oman between 2000 and 2023, we compute estimators of the two Weibull distribution parameters (namely, the Weibull distribution's shape parameter and the Weibull distribution's scale parameter) in 10 weather station locations within eight Omani governorates. The 10 weather station locations in Oman and their corresponding governorates are Seeb (in Muscat), Salalah (in Dhofar), Buraimi (in Al Buraimi), Masirah (in Ash Sharqiyah South), Thumrait (in Dhofar), Sur (in Ash Sharqiyah South), Khasab (in Musandam), Sohar (in Sohar), Fahud (in Az Zahirah), and Saiq (in Ad Dakhiliyah). The obtained wind speed distributions at these weather stations are then used to predict the annual energy production (AEP) for a proposed reference amount of 1 MWp of wind turbine capacity, and this specific AEP is designated here by the term "normalized annual energy production (NAEP)." The direction of the wind is also analyzed statistically over the same period to identify the more probable wind directions. Four locations were clearly distinguishable as being windy compared to the others. The simulated probability of exceeding a feasible 6 m/s (21.6 km/h) wind speed in these locations is 41.71% in Thumrait, 37.77% in Masirah, 29.53% in Sur, and 17.03% in Fahud. The NAEP values in these four locations are estimated as 1.727 GWh/MWp/year, 1.419 GWh/MWp/year, 1.038 GWh/MWp/year, and 0.602 GWh/MWp/year, respectively. The wind in the location of Thumrait is not only the fastest (on average) among the selected locations but also the most unidirectional, blowing almost always from the south-south-east (SSE) direction, and both features make this non-coastal location in southern Oman, with an altitude of about 467 m, an attractive site for utility-scale wind farms.

25 pages, 21 figures, 8 tables, published journal article, peer-reviewed, open access

References in corpus (12)

• AMFlow: a Mathematica package for Feynman integrals computation via Auxiliary Mass Flow
• Assessment of global warming in Al Buraimi, sultanate of Oman based on statistical analysis of NASA POWER data over 39 years, and testing the reliability of NASA POWER against meteorological measurements
• Adiabatic Flame Temperatures for Oxy-Methane, Oxy-Hydrogen, Air-Methane, and Air-Hydrogen Stoichiometric Combustion using the NASA CEARUN Tool, GRI-Mech 3.0 Reaction Mechanism, and Cantera Python Package
• The Sod gasdynamics problem as a tool for benchmarking face flux construction in the finite volume method
• Detailed and simplified plasma models in combined-cycle magnetohydrodynamic power systems
• Temperature Dependent Functions of the Electron Neutral Momentum Transfer Collision Cross Sections of Selected Combustion Plasma Species
• Estimated electric conductivities of thermal plasma for air-fuel combustion and oxy-fuel combustion with potassium or cesium seeding
• Hydrogen Utilization as a Plasma Source for Magnetohydrodynamic Direct Power Extraction (MHD-DPE)
• Coupled differential-algebraic equations framework for modeling six-degree-of-freedom flight dynamics of asymmetric fixed-wing aircraft
• Condenser Pressure Influence on Ideal Steam Rankine Power Vapor Cycle using the Python Extension Package Cantera for Thermodynamics
• Proposed 2MW Wind Turbine for Use in the Governorate of Dhofar at the Sultanate of Oman
• Temperature upper bound of an ideal gas

Cited by in corpus (4)

• InvSim algorithm for pre-computing airplane flight controls in limited-range autonomous missions, and demonstration via double-roll maneuver of Mirage III fighters
• Profiles of the Power Density and Other Properties of Hydrogen Magnetohydrodynamic Generators at Conditions
• OpenFOAM computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver for magnetohydrodynamic open cycles, applied to the Sakhalin pulsed magnetohydrodynamic generator (PMHDG)
• Extended five-term nonlinear drag model for a wide range of cylinder wakes