Vol: 1 Issue: 1
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WIND SPEED DISTRIBUTION FOR THE WIND POWER POTENTIAL IN CALABAR USING THE WEIBULL DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION
Ekpo Bassey Ene, Samuel Oliver Effiom
Abstract:
Energy demand has significantly increased in Nigeria due to the constant increase in her population size. Conventional sources of electricity including fossil fuels and hydroelectricity are not enough to provide an adequate electric power supply to tackle energy challenges faced across the country. Hence, the introduction of a more sustainable source of energy like the wind is looked at by researchers to contribute significantly to the power supply at specific locations in the country through statistical analysis aimed at harnessing energy from nature's gift of wind. Therefore, this study investigates the wind energy potential of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Wind speed data is obtained at a height of 10m above sea level from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and evaluated using the two-Weibull parameter probability distribution model to check the viability of siting a wind turbine in Calabar city. A period from January 2010 to December 2020 monthly wind speed data is looked at in other to determine the wind power and energy density, which is a key parameter for ascertaining the wind energy potential of any location.