An Assessment of Wind Power Generation Potential for Margate Town in South Africa

Abstract

Before setting up a wind farm at any given site, it is very important to evaluate its wind power potential to find its physical and economic sustainability. To date, there is limited research output on wind resource assessment for Margate town in South Africa and this might be one of the factors affecting the uptake of wind technologies in this area. This study aimed to assess the wind power potential of Margate. Three-year-long, hourly average wind speed series between January 2010 and December 2012 for Margate town were statistically analysed using the Weibull distribution function. The dimensionless Weibull shape parameter (k) varied from 2.1 to 2.2 while the scale parameter (c) ranged between 4.1 and 4.3 ms-1. The most probable wind speed (vmp) ranged from 3.0 to 3.2 ms-1. The wind power densities fluctuated from 57.8 to 64.0 Wm-2.The average of the measured wind speeds (vm) for the whole period was less than 5 ms-1.Basing on the wind classification done by European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), Margate town is not favourable for the installation of wind turbines. However according to the rule of thumb for mean yearly wind speeds set by American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the town is suitable for installation of stand-alone systems. It is thus recommended to small scale wind turbines for stand-alone applications such as supplying power to individual houses and irrigation in this town.