Wind Power potential in Kigali and Western provinces of Rwanda

Abstract

Wind speed and wind direction are the most important characteristics for assessing wind energy potential of a location using suitable probability density functions. In this investigation, a hybrid-Weibull probability density function was used to analyze data from Kigali, Gisenyi, and Kamembe stations. Kigali is located in the Eastern side of Rwanda while Gisenyi and Kamembe are to the West. Onsite hourly wind speed and wind direction data for the year 2007 were analyzed using Matlab programmes. The annual mean wind speed for Kigali, Gisenyi, and Kamembe sites were determined as 2.36m/s, 2.95m/s and 2.97m/s respectively, while corresponding dominant wind directions for the stations were 3200 , 1800 and 1500 respectively. The annual wind power density of Kigali was found to be 13.7W/m2 , while the power densities for Gisenyi and Kamembe were determined as 18.4W/m2and 24.4W/m2 . It is clear, the investigated regions are dominated by low wind speeds thus are suitable for small-scale wind power generation especially at Kamembe site.