INVESTIGATION OF WIND CHARACTERISTICS AND ESTIMATION OF WIND POWER POTENTIAL OF NAROK COUNTY USING WEIBULL AND WAVELET TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Low exploitation of wind power in Kenya can be linked to the limited or nonexistent information on wind characteristics for many regions. This study aimed to address this gap by examining wind characteristics through Weibull and Wavelet techniques, evaluating both temporal, spatial, and spectral aspects to estimate wind power potential. Wavelet technique was used to study spectral characteristics while Weibull was used in fitting the wind data to obtain other temporal characteristics of the wind regime. Wind data of Narok county, recorded between 2011 and 2021 for Narok weather station, was analyzed using the Weibull and Wavelet techniques to avail the desired wind characteristics. The wind regime was characterized by an annual mean wind speed of 4.3 m/s which correspond to a mean wind power density of 126 W/m2 . Based on wind speed, wind regime in Narok can be classified as gentle breeze at 10 m. Based on wind power density, wind regime in Narok belongs to a class 2 wind power. The wind regime was found to have period of about 1 year and is dominated by frequencies in the range 0.4 Hz to 0.5 Hz. The wind predominantly blows from the East direction. Weibull distribution describes the wind regime in Narok with an accuracy of 0.94 based on R2 error approximation technique which imply that Weibull distribution is about 94% accurate in describing the wind regime of Narok. The study found that wind regime in Narok was generally viable for wind power extraction at heights above 19 m regardless of the scale of wind power extraction.