Wind resource assessment and wind power potential for the city of Ardabil, Iran

The results of an investigation of the potential of wind energy as a power source are reported for an Iranian north-western city, Ardabil. The Weibull probability distribution function using a long-term data source, consisting of 6 years (2005–2010) of 3-h period measured mean wind data, is adopted and analyzed. The data have been measured at a height of 10 m above the ground level. Also, monthly and annual wind speed variations are analyzed. The monthly mean wind speed is between 2.09 and 6.58 m/s, while the annual mean wind speed is in the range of 3.28–4.08 m/s. The Ardabil site is found to have good characteristics from the perspective of mean wind speed. The numerical values of the shape and scale parameters for Ardabil are seen to vary over a wide range. The monthly mean value of shape parameter (k) is between 2.62 and 3.17, while the monthly mean value of the Weibull scale parameter (c) is between 3.36 and 5.43 m/s. The results show that the months of October and September have higher mean power densities and that July has a lower mean power density than other months. Also, the wind potential of the studied region is determined to be very suitable for the off-grid connections and could be acceptable for connecting to power grids.