Wind Energy Potential Assessment and Mapping Through Various Distribution Techniques: an Experimental Investigation for Wind Zone

The conventional energy resources are limited and they are reducing gradually. Therefore, energy production through renewable sources has acquired the maximum attention across the globe. Concurrently, the power crises have escalated especially in the developing countries like Pakistan. It was reported that 1/3rd of the population in the country is still not connected with the power grid. This is an alarming issue that requires the immediate attention for the socio-economic growth of the country. Therefore, the energy policy advisors in Pakistan must consider renewable energy (RE) as a prime source of electricity generation due to its adequate and continual availability. In this study, the authors focused on wind energy and they proposed the Umerkot site located in the Sindh province to evaluate the wind energy potential based on various Weibull distribution techniques such as Empirical, Graphical, Maximum likelihood estimation, Energy pattern factor and modified maximum likelihood estimation method. The performance is tested based on the three statistical methods, such as root mean squared error (RMSE), the coefficient of correlation (R) and coefficient of determination (R2). Moreover, the capacity factor (CF) and energy produced (EP) from different wind turbine (WT) models are also estimated. From the analysis, it is noticed that the proposed site has a huge potential of wind for power generation and it can be utilized for utility purpose. Furthermore, if exploited, it will help in reducing energy shortage in the countryside which badly affected the economic growth.