Wind power resource assessment for Rafha, Saudi Arabia

Abstract This paper, presents the analysis of wind speed data and available energy in Rafha area using wind machines of 600, 1000 and 1500kW sizes from three manufacturers. The long-term annual mean values of wind speeds were found to vary between a minimum of 2.5 m/s in the year 2002 and a maximum of 4.9 m/s in 1990. The frequency distribution showed that wind remained silent for 7% of the time on an average during 24 years of data period and 35% between 0 and 3.5 m/s. Wind speed remained above 3.5 m/s for 65% of the time and only 20% of the times above 6.5 m/s. The annual wind energy production and plant capacity factors, obtained using different methods and wind machines of three sizes and from three manufacturers are also discussed and compared. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Wind speed; Wind power; Plant capacity factor; Wind machin