Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Wind and Wind Resources: A Case Study of Some Nigerian Cities

Wind Energy available in 24 Nigeria cities is estimated using monthly wind speed data. The country is grouped into zones, namely: Coastal, Inland, Middle Belt and far Northern regions for effective characterization into areas of similar climatic conditions. To analyze the wind data, a check on the reliability is made to ensure adequacy for the estimation of spatial and temporal characteristics of the nation’s wind resources. The long-term average wind speed, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, shape and scale factors and wind power densities are estimated for each city and averaged for zones. From the results generated, the classification of the 24 stations into class 1-7 is made. Classification indicates class 1 for the weakest location for siting of wind power generators to class 7 the strongest possible site for electric energy generator site. Sites with high altitude mostly in the Northern part of the country, such as Jos, Minna, Sokoto, Gusau, Katsina and Kano show potentials for investment in wind power generators. In the southern part of the country, possible offshore wind generator is advocated. For cities such as Ikeja, Enugu and Ikom, generators may be considered though not very economical when average yearly wind speed is the subject