Evaluation of wind resources for Phases I and II wind farms in Brazil using various statistical estimation models and WAsP

Abstract A wind resource assessment was conducted for Phases I and II wind farms in Santa Vitoria do Palmar, Brazil. The data used for wind analysis was taken from April 2007 to March 2008 at a meteorological mast height of 101 m. A 10-minute data set of wind speed, standard deviation, wind direction, relative humidity, environmental temperature, and pressure were measured. Analytical estimation models were used to determine the Weibull parameters required for calculating the annual average wind speed, mean power density, cumulative distribution, and probability density functions of the wind regime. The probability density function statistical results were analyzed at two different heights – the reference height of 101 m and the hub height of 80 m. The outcomes were then compared with the WAsP numerical output. The analysis showed that the energy pattern factor method has a confidence level above 97.5% with a correlation coefficient of 100%. Calculation results showed that the annual mean wind speed was 8.10 m/s at 80 m hub height, recommending the site is appropriate for GL Wind 2010 and IEC 61400-1 Ed.2 Class II wind turbine generators. The characteristic wind turbulence at 101 m reference height was IEC Subclass B. Out of the selected wind turbine generators, the HAWT-5/2.50 MW has the highest capacity factor of 44.17% but the lowest levelized energy cost of US$ 44.36/MWh. WAsP was also used to numerically calculate the given locality’s net annual energy production. Based on the proposed wind turbine arrangement, the predicted net annual energy production with wake loss effect for Phases I and II wind farms are 104.92 GWh/year and 456.89 GWh/year, respectively.