TECHNOLOGY An Investigation of Wind Characteristics for Optimu m Wind Energy Utilization at the Campus of Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, B hopal,India

Energy is an essential ingredient of socio-economic development and economic growth. Renewable energy sources like wind energy is one of the most signifi cant and rapidly developing renewable energy sources in the world and it provide a clean energy resource, and c an help in reducing the dependency on fossil fuels. Wind is the indirect form of solar energy and is always being r eplenished by the sun. Wind is caused by differenti al heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. It has been estimat ed that roughly 10 million MW of energy are continuously available in the earth’s wind. Wind energy provides a variable and environmental friendly option. The main purpose of this paper is to present, in brief, wind potenti al in INDIA and to perform an investigation on the wind energy potential of Bhopal (M.P). Therefore, in this study , a wind observation station was established at RGP V University Main Campus in order to figure out the wind energy potential in the province. Topographical and wind s peed measurement data have been collected as a first ste p. The wind speed has been measured at the 20th and 40th meters of the measurement mast for 2 months. The data coll ected in this observation station between July 2013 and August 2013 have been evaluated via NRG Symphonie Data Retriever software programs.