Assessment of wind energy resources for electricity generation using WECS in North-Central region, Nigeria

This paper presents a statistical analysis of wind characteristics of five locations covering the North-Central (NC) geo-political zone, Nigeria, namely Bida, Minna, Makurdi, Ilorin and Lokoja using Weibull distribution functions on a 36-year (1971–2007) wind speed data at 10 m height collected by the meteorological stations of NIMET in the region. The monthly, seasonal and annual variations were examined while wind speeds at different hub heights were got by extrapolating the 10 m data using the power law. The results from this investigation showed that all the five sites will only be adequate for non-connected electrical and mechanical applications with consideration to their respective annual mean wind speeds of 2.747, 4.289, 4.570, 4.386 and 3.158 m/s and annual average power densities of 16.569, 94.113, 76.399, 71.823 and 26.089 W/m2 for Bida, Minna, Makurdi, Ilorin and Lokoja in that order. Weibull parameters k and c together with the energies for the respective locations were computed while further observation revealed that Bida, Minna, Makurdi and Ilorin are windier in the morning than afternoon periods for many months in a year whereas Lokoja had a windy afternoon. Additionally, four wind turbines De wind 48—600 kW, De wind D6—1250 kW, De wind D7—1500 kW and De wind D8—2000 kW were technically assessed for electricity generation by calculating their respective yearly energy output and capacity factor in all the locations.