WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT FOR SMALL-SCALE POWER GENERATION SETUP IN LOW-WIND-SPEED REGIMES

Wind turbines in urban areas can be vertical or horizontal axis, depending on wind speed, installation flexibility, height limit, and aesthetic integration. Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) require wind direction tracking, while vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have a fixed rotation axis. Environmental pollution and resource scarcity have prompted the development of new energy alternatives, including wind energy. Utilizing all potential wind energy locations worldwide could help meet the world's total energy needs. The Weibull model provides a better fit for wind speed data in monthly and rainy seasons, making it more widely accepted than the Rayleigh distribution. This study analyzes wind velocity fluctuations monthly, seasonally, and annually, as well as wind power densities at different above ground levels (AGLs) for Gubadi, Nagpur, India (latitude: 21° 05' 41.8" N, longitude: 78° 42' 1.9" E). The maximum likelihood estimator was used to calculate the parameters. The wind shear pattern for the considered site was not definite. Nevertheless, the wind shear coefficient (WSC) was usually higher in the winter due to the blending of air above the ground level, and the maximum wind power density value was observed in July. The wind shear coefficient analysis revealed no definite pattern, but highest and lowest values were observed. The wind shear coefficient was calculated to analyze the pattern of wind speed variation monthly, and it was found that no definite pattern could be observed.