Feasibility of Wind Energy as Power Generation Source at Shillong (Meghalaya)

Abstract

As the study of wind profile and assessment of wind energy potential is the prerequisite to check the feasibility of wind energy as power generation source for a concerned site, this paper deals with the analysis of wind characteristics and assessment of wind power potential of Shillong using five years (2012–2016) wind speed data collected from Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati. For the analysis, Weibull distribution method is employed and its Weibull parameters are estimated using the Maximum Likelihood method. The findings reveal that most of the daily mean wind speed falls within the range of 0.5–3 m/s. It also reveals that monthly and whole years mean wind power densities are 1.41 W/m2–28.26 W/m2 and 10.20 W/m2, respectively, which is not suitable for large-scale power generation. In such situations, there is a possibility of deployment of vertical axis wind turbines.