Feasibility study of harnessing wind energy for turbine installation in province of Yazd in Iran

This paper analyses the wind speed of some major cities in province of Yazd which is located in central part of Iran. Also, the feasibility study of implementing wind turbines to take advantage of wind power is reviewed and then the subject of wind speed and wind potential at different stations is considered. This paper utilized wind speed data over a period of almost 13 years between 1992 and 2005 from 11 stations, to assess the wind power potential at these sites. In this paper, the hourly measured wind speed data at 10 m, 20 m and 40 m height for Yazd province have been statically analyzed to determine the potential of wind power generation. Extrapolation of the 10 m data, using the Power Law, has been used to determine the wind data at heights of 20 m and 40 m. The results showed that most of the stations have annual average wind speed of less than 4.5 m/s which is considered as unacceptable for installation of the wind turbines. City of Herat has higher wind energy potential with annual wind speed average of 5.05 m/s and 6.86 m/s, respectively, at height of 10 m and 40 m above ground level (AGL). This site is a good candidate for remote area wind energy applications. But some more information is required, because the collected data for Herat is only for 2004. Cities of Aghda with 3.96 m/s, Gariz with 3.95 m/s, and Maybod with 3.83 m/s annual wind speed average at height of 10 m above ground level are also able to harness wind by installing small wind turbines. The Tabas and Bafgh sites wind speed data indicated that the two sites have lower annual wind speed averages between 1.56 m/s and 2.22 m/s at 10 m height. The monthly and annual wind speeds at different heights have been studied to ensure optimum selection of wind turbine installation for different stations in Yazd.