In-Situ Based Observation and Reanalysis-Derived Wind Data for Offshore Wind Energy Potential Assessment in the Gulf of Guinea
No Thumbnail Available
Date
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ImprintCRC Press
Abstract
Description
This study investigates offshore wind energy resources over five synoptic stations offshore in Nigeria,
located within Guinea Gulf of Guinea (GoG). It utilizes buoy-station observations of wind from 1979 to
2015 to validate the use of high-resolution RegCM4 Regional Climate Model CORDEX-CORE
simulations driven by ERA-Interim (ERA). It employs the Weibull distribution function to estimate
parameters for the evaluation of offshore wind energy potential based on characteristics intrinsic to
energy conversion in the study area. Mann–Kendal test was carried out to evaluate the statistical
significance of the observed trends and inter-annual variability. A series of standardized criteria such as
wind power density (WPD), coefficient of variation (CV), monthly variability index (MVI),
accessibility, extreme wind speed, and distance to the coast were adopted to find the most appropriate
sites for offshore wind energy exploitation over the study area. The results revealed that the ERA
simulations have fairly good agreements and fit with the field observations of sea surface wind speed.
Low and insignificant (at p = 0.05) negative model bias, MB (−0.07 ≤ MB ≤ −0.28 ms−1), and percentage
mean bias, PMB (−2.12 ≤ PMB ≤ −7.06%) were obtained in 80% of the stations. The wind power
potential in the GoG varied with the distance of the site from the coast. Agbami station showed the best
potential for wind power resources with daily mean and annual total WPD of 2.50 ± 0.50 kW m−2 and
1.02 ± 0.17 MW m−2, respectively. There were indications of abundant wind power availability and
generation at the selected sites, going by the low variability and intermittency obtained in terms of
trends, range, CV, MVI, and extreme wind speed episodes.
Keywords
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery