An Assessment of the Potential for
Utility-Scale Wind Power Generation in Eritrea
Masters Thesis in Environmental Studies
by Karen Rosen, August 1998
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0. TITLE PAGE & ABSTRACT
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THESIS STATEMENTS
3. BACKGROUND
Wind Turbine Technology
Characteristics of Wind Power
Wind Assessment
4. STUDY AREA
Geography and Demographics
The Eritrean Energy Sector
Wind Patterns
5. METHODS
Identification and Collection of Wind Data
Analysis of Wind Data for Aseb
Analysis of Wind Data for the Red Sea
6. RESULTS
Mean Wind Speeds
Projected Available Wind Power
Wind Direction
Limitations of Analysis
7. DISCUSSION
Variability of Results Obtained Using Different Methods of Analysis
Cost of Wind Generated Electricity at Aseb
8. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Potential Problems
Future Work
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX A: DATA RESOURCES
APPENDIX B: PRELIMINARY SPOT MEASUREMENT
RESULTS
TABLES
Table 1 Installed
world wind capacity by country, 1995
Table 2. 1995
U.S. wind farm installation costs
Table 3. Varying
costs of installing a wind system in the U.S. based on turbine size
Table 4. Wind
speed, power density, and power class
Table 5. Approximate
(±1 m/s) mean annual wind speeds (MAWS) based on data recorded at
seven stations in the Eritrean highlands and western lowlands
Table 6. Mean annual
wind speeds (MAWS) based on historical Italian data for four stations in
the Eritrean highlands
Table 7. Initial
results of a statistical analysis of seasonal wind speeds in meters per
second at the two Aseb stations
Table 8. Results
of the analysis of DATSAV2 data, showing mean seasonal and annual 10-meter
wind speeds (in m/s) for 3-hour periods at the Aseb stations.
Table 9. Three-parameter
Weibull parameters of k, A and s, and 10-meter wind speeds derived from
those parameters, for seasonal 3-hour periods at the Aseb stations.
Table 10. Projected
wind speed, power, and energy output at Aseb
Table 11. Results
of different data analysis methods for the Aseb Airport and Seaport, showing
Weibull parameters k and A, mean annual wind speeds (MAWS), and wind power
densities (WPD), all at 10 meters height.
Table B1.
Results of the Eritrean Department of Energy spot wind measurements
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1: Installed
world wind capacity in kilowatts, 1980-1995
Figure 2. Effect
of wind speed on cost of wind-generated electricity
Figure 3. Map
of Eritrea showing topography, major cities, the national electrical grid,
surrounding countries, and major bodies of water.
Figure 4. Diagram
showing power supply, power demand and energy costs at Aseb
Figure 5. Map showing
the Airport and Seaport meteorological stations at Aseb, where DATSAV2
data were recorded.
Figure 6. Division
of DATSAV2 data for the two stations at Aseb
Figure 7. Correlation
between wind speeds at the two Aseb stations
Figure 8. Scatter
plots showing Weibull parameter correlations
Figure 9. Graph
showing P(v), the power curve for the Flowind AWT-27 wind turbine
Figure 10. Graphs
showing mean diurnal wind speed variations at the Aseb stations
Figure 11. Graphs
showing three-parameter Weibull fits to the observed annual wind speed
distributions at the Aseb Airport and Seaport
Figure 12. Map
showing mean annual wind speeds along the southern Eritrean coastline
Figure 13. Wind
roses showing wind direction frequency distributions during the summer
and winter monsoon seasons at Aseb