Oyedepo et al.

International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering 2012, 3:7

http://www.journal-ijeee.com/content/3/1/7

ORIGINAL RESEARCH Open Access

Analysis of wind speed data and wind energy

potential in three selected locations in south-east
Nigeria
Sunday O Oyedepo1, Muyiwa S Adaramola2* and Samuel S Paul3

Abstract
In this study, the wind speed characteristics and energy potential in three selected locations in the southeastern
part of Nigeria were investigated using wind speed data that span between 24 and 37 years and measured at a
height of 10 m. It was shown that the annual mean wind speed at a height of 10 m for Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha
are 5.42, 3.36 and 3.59 m/s, respectively, while the annual mean power densities are 96.98, 23.23 and 28.34 W/m2,
respectively. It was further shown that the mean annual value of the most probable wind speed are 5.47, 3.72 and
3.50 m/s for Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha, respectively, while the respective annual value of the wind speed carrying
maximum energy are 6.48, 4.33 and 3.90 m/s. The performance of selected commercial wind turbine models (with
rated power between 50 and 1,000 kW) designed for electricity generation and a windmill (rated power, 0.36 kW)
for water pumping located in these sites was examined. The annual energy output and capacity factor for these
turbines, as well as the water produced by the windmill, were determined. The minimum required design
parameters for a wind turbine to be a viable option for electricity generation in each location are also suggested.
Keywords: Mean wind speed, Wind power density, South-east Nigeria, Electricity, Water pumping

Background 237,669 MW in 2011 [1]. In Africa, for example, Egypt,

The quest to reduce environmental impacts of conven- Morocco and Tunisia are the leading countries with in-
tional energy resources and, more importantly, to meet stalled capacities of 550, 291 and 114 MW, respectively,
the growing energy demand of the global population had at the end of 2011 [1].
motivated considerable research attention in a wide The increasing energy demand, the rapidly depleting
range of environmental and engineering application of fossil fuel reserves and the environmental problems asso-
renewable form of energy. It is recognized that wind en- ciated with the use of fossil fuel have necessitated the de-
ergy, as a renewable energy source, has stood out as the velopment of alternative energy sources like wind energy
most valuable and promising choice. Wind energy by na- for electricity generation in Nigeria. It is reported that
ture is clean, abundant, affordable, inexhaustible and en- the electricity production in Nigeria as of the end of
vironmentally preferable. Due to its many advantages, 2010 is less than 4,000 MW due to fluctuations in the
wind energy has also become the fastest growing renew- availability and maintenance of production sources, lead-
able source of energy in both developed and developing ing to a shortfall in supply [2]. However, analyses of
countries. For example, wind energy is widely used to available wind data for selected cities have confirmed a
produce electricity in countries like Denmark, Spain, high prospect of wind energy resources in Nigeria. Sev-
Germany, USA, China and India. Interestingly, the global eral studies on renewable sources of energy have also
cumulative installed capacity of wind power had been performed. A detailed review and discussion of
increased sharply from 6,100 MW in 1996 to about these studies can be found in [2-6] and are not repeated
here. Worthy of mention here from these studies, how-
ever, is that the effective utilization of wind energy at a
* Correspondence: [email protected]
2
Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of typical location requires sound knowledge of the wind
Science and Technology, Trondheim, NO-7491, Norway characteristics and accurate wind data analysis. For
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

© 2012 Oyedepo et al.; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Oyedepo et al. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering 2012, 3:7 Page 2 of 11
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example, the choice of wind turbine design must be Frequency distribution and site wind speed parameters
based on the average wind velocity at a selected wind Several mathematical models such as normal and lognor-
turbine installation site [7]. Prior studies have also shown mal have been used for wind data analysis. Prior studies
that the wind flow patterns are influenced by terrains, have also shown that statistical methods such as the
vegetation and water bodies. Weibull and Rayleigh distribution models can equally be
Although several studies have been performed to investi- used [12]. According to [13-15], the two-parameter Wei-
gate the characteristics and pattern of wind speed across bull probability distribution function is the most appro-
Nigeria, less attention has been given to sites in the south- priate, accepted and recommended distribution function
east region. According to [8,9], the few reported studies on for wind speed data analysis. This is because it gives a
wind speed in this part of the country were limited to wind better fit for measured monthly probability density distri-
speed distributions, while less attention was paid to the butions than other statistical functions [12,15]. In
wind energy potential evaluation. The focus of this study addition, the Weibull parameters at known height can be
is, therefore, to evaluate the wind energy potential in three used to estimate wind parameters at another height [13].
selected locations (Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha) in the Therefore, the two-parameter Weibull probability density
south-east region and to assess the performance of function was used in this study. In Weibull distribution,
selected small- to medium-size commercial wind turbines. the variation in wind velocity is characterized by two
It is the authors' view that this information will be helpful parameter functions: the probability density function and
to the government and any organization in making an the cumulative distribution. The probability density func-
informed decision with regard to investment in wind en- tion f(V) indicates the probability of the wind at a given
ergy resource in this part of Nigeria. velocity V, while the corresponding cumulative distribu-
tion function of the velocity V gives the probability that
the wind velocity is equal to or lower than V, or within a
Methods given wind speed range. The Weibull probability density
The wind data used in this study were obtained from the function is given as, e.g., [12,16]:
Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Oshodi, Lagos. The
geographical coordinates of the meteorological stations

k−1 "
 #
where the wind speed data were captured at a height of k V V k
f ðV Þ ¼ exp − ð1Þ
10 m by a cup-generator anemometer are given in c c c
Table 1. There are many sources of measurement uncer-
tainty in cup-anemometer measurements. The guidelines
and steps necessary to minimize these errors are outlined
where f(V) = the probability of observing wind speed
in Manwell et al. [10]. Following the methodologies pro-
(V), k = dimensionless Weibull parameter and c = the
posed and explained in the ISO guide [11] to the expres-
Weibull scale parameter (in meter per second). The scale
sion of uncertainty in measurement, the uncertainty in
factor could be related to the mean wind speed through
the mean velocities at 95% confidence level was deter-
the shape factor, which determines the uniformity of the
mined to be ±2%. Monthly wind data that span between
wind speed in a given site. The cumulative distribution F
24 and 37 years were obtained for Enugu, Owerri and
(V) is the integral of the probability density function, and
Onitsha. The recorded wind speeds were computed as
it is expressed as, e.g., [12,16]:
the mean of the speed for each month. It should be
noted that using monthly wind speed has some limita-
tions such as loosing extremely low or high wind speeds F ðV Þ ¼ 1−e−ð =c Þk
V

within the month as well as inability to observe diurnal

ð2Þ
variations in the wind speed. However, using monthly
mean wind speed, which is mostly available for most The monthly and annual values of Weibull parameters
locations, can be used to study the seasonal changes in were calculated using standard deviation method. This
wind speed and facilitates wind data analysis. method is useful where only the mean wind speed and
standard deviation are available. In addition, it gives bet-
Table 1 The geographical location of the selected stations ter results than graphical method and has relatively sim-
ple expressions when compared with other methods
Station Latitude (N) Longitude (E) Altitude (m) Measurement period
[13,17,18]. Moreover, it is unlike most of the other
Enugu 6° 26′ 7° 29′ 304.70 1971 to 2007
methods that may require more detailed wind data
Owerri 5° 29′ 7° 02′ 186.05 1977 to 2002 (which, in some cases, are not readily available) for the
Onitsha 6° 10′ 6° 47′ 63.14 1978 to 2003 determination of the Weibull distribution shape and
N, North; E, East. scale parameters. The shape and scale factors are thus
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computed from Equations 3 and 4 given by [13,19]: roughness coefficient and is assumed to be 0.143 (or 1/7)

−1:086 in most cases. The surface roughness coefficient α can be
σ determined from the following expression [22]:
k¼ ð3Þ
Vm


Vm ho
c¼   ð4Þ α ¼ ½0:37−0:088lnðVo Þ= 1−0:088ln ð10Þ
Γ 1 þ k1 10

where σ is the standard deviation, Vm is the mean wind

speed (in meter per second) and Ґ(x) is the gamma func- Alternatively, the Weibull probability density func-
tion, which is defined as [17,19]: tion can be used to obtain the extrapolated values of
wind speed at different heights. Since the boundary
Γ ðxÞ ¼ ∫∞
0t
x−1 −t
e dt: ð5Þ layer development and the effect of the ground are
non-linear with respect to wind speed, the scale factor
Alternatively, scale factor can be determined from the
c and form factor k of the Weibull distribution will
following expressions given by [20]:
change as a function of height by the following
Vm k 2:6674 expressions [13]:
c¼ ð6Þ
0:184 þ 0:816k 2:73855

n
h
Equation 6 is used in this study to estimate the cðhÞ ¼ co ð11Þ
monthly and annual scale factors. ho
In addition to the mean wind speed, the other two sig-
nificant wind speeds for wind energy estimation are the
most probable wind speed (VF) and the wind speed car- 
 

ho h
rying maximum energy (VE). They can be expressed re- k ðhÞ ¼ ko 1− 0:088 ln = 1− 0:088 ln
spectively as [12,21]: 10 10
ð12Þ

1
k−1 =k
VF ¼ c ð7Þ where co and ko are the scale factor and shape param-
k
eter, respectively, at the measurement height ho. The
exponent n is defined as:

1
k þ 2 =k
VE ¼ c ð8Þ 

k h
n ¼ ½0:37− 0:088 lnðco Þ= 1− 0:088 ln ð13Þ
10
The most probable wind speed corresponds to the peak
of the probability density function, while the wind speed
carrying maximum energy can be used to estimate the
Mean wind power density and energy density
wind turbine design or rated wind speed. Prior studies
The mean wind power density can be estimated by using
have shown that wind turbine system operates most effi-
the following equation:
ciently at its rated wind speed. Therefore, it is required
that the rated wind speed and the wind speed carrying
maximum energy should be as close as possible [16]. P ðV Þ 1 3
PD ¼ ¼ ρVm ð14Þ
A 2
Extrapolation of wind speed at different hub height
In most cases, the available wind data are measured at a
height different from the wind turbine hub height. It is where P(V) = the wind power (in watt), PD = the wind
noted that it is the wind speed at the hub height that is of power density (watt per square meter), ρ = the air density
interest for wind power application; therefore, the available at the site (assumed to be 1.225 kg/m3 in this study) and
wind speeds are adjusted to the wind turbine hub height A = the swept area of the rotor blades (in square meter).
using the following power law expression, e.g., [12]: Both the mean wind speed and power density are

α
V h generally used to classify the wind energy resource (e.g.,
¼ ð9Þ
Vo ho Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) wind power classifi-
cation scheme, Illica et al. [23]). However, the wind
where V is the wind speed at the hub height h, Vo is wind power density (wind power per unit area) based on the
speed at the original height ho and α is the surface Weibull probability density function can be calculated
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using the following equation [24]: rotodynamic pump driven by a wind turbine with a given

 cut-in wind speed and a cut-out wind speed, the water
P ðV Þ 1 3 3 produced over a period of time T can be determined
PD ¼ ¼ ρc Γ 1 þ ð15Þ
A 2 k from:

Q ¼ T ∫VVoi QðV Þf ðV ÞdV ð19Þ

The mean energy density (ED) over a period of time T
is the product of the mean power density and the time T, where Q(V) is the discharge of the pump at any wind
and it is expressed as: speed, and it is given by [28]:



2 

1 3 3 1 ρ Vd GλD
ED ¼ ρc Γ 1 þ T ð16Þ QðV Þ ¼ CP ηVD α ð20Þ
2 k 8 ρw gH NPD

Wind turbine energy output and capacity factor where Vd is design wind speed, G is the gear ratio, NPD
A wind energy conversion system can operate at its max- is the speed of the pump at design condition, D is the
imum efficiency only if it is designed for a particular site wind turbine rotor diameter and λD is the design tip
because the rated power and cut-in and cut-off wind speed ratio of the wind turbine. For a water-pumping ap-
speeds must be defined based on the site wind character- plication, a tip speed ratio between 1 and 3 is recom-
istics [12]. It is essential that these parameters are mended [10]. By substituting Equation 20 into
selected so that energy output from the conversion sys- Equation 19 and assuming Rayleigh probability density
tem is maximized. The performance of a wind turbine function f(V), the total water produced over a given time
installed in a given site can be examined by the amount is expressed as [26]:
of mean power output over a period of time (Pe,ave) and

2 
the conversion efficiency or capacity factor of the tur- π ρa Vd
Q¼ C P η TD ð21Þ
bine. The capacity factor Cf is defined as the ratio of the 16Vm 2 D PD
ρw gH

  
mean power output to the rated electrical power (PeR) of GλD Vo 2
∫ V exp− 4ðVm Þ dV
π V 2

the wind turbine [12,20]. NPD Vi

The mean power output Pe,ave and capacity factor Cf of
a wind turbine can be estimated using the following
expressions based on Weibull distribution function [12]: Results and discussion
0 1 Wind speed frequency distribution
−ðvcc Þ −ðvcr Þ
k k
e −e The annual probability density frequency and cumulative
Pe;ave ¼ PeR @  k  k −e ð c Þ A
vf k
−
ð17Þ
vr
− vc distributions of wind speed for the three locations
c c
obtained using the Weibull distribution function are
shown in Figure 1. The probability density function is
Pe;ave used to illustrate the fraction of time for which given
Cf ¼ ð18Þ
PeR wind speed possibly prevails at a location. As expected,
the peak of the density function frequencies of all the
where vc, vr and vf are the cut-in wind speed, rated wind
sites skewed towards the higher values of mean wind
speed and cut-off wind speed, respectively. For an invest-
speed (Figure 1a). It should be remarked that the peak of
ment in wind power to be cost effective, it is suggested
the probability density function curve indicates the most
that the capacity factor should be greater than 0.25 [25].
frequent velocity. It can be observed from Figure 1a that
the most frequent wind speed expected in Enugu, Owerri
Wind-driven rotodynamic pumps and Onitsha are about 5.5, 3.5 and 3.5 m/s, respectively.
There are three types of wind-powered pumping sys- It can be further observed that Enugu has the highest
tems. They are the mechanical-piston pump, the mech- spread of wind speed toward high wind speed among the
anical-air lift (rotodynamic) pump and the electrical locations.
pump. In general, the volume of water produced by roto- The cumulative probability distributions of the wind
dynamic and electrical pumps are considered to be more speed at all the study locations (Figure 1b) show a simi-
than that of a piston pump at the same wind speed re- lar trend. The cumulative distribution function can be
gime. This is because there is a better match between used for estimating the time for which wind speed is
the rotodynamic and electrical pumps and the wind within a certain speed interval. For wind speeds greater
rotor than for a piston pump [26,27]. In this study, the or equal to 2.5 m/s cut-in wind speed, Enugu, Owerri
performance of a rotodynamic pump is simulated. For a and Onitsha have frequencies of about 96.9%, 86.5% and
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Table 2 Characteristic speeds and mean power density in

0.6
Enugu at a height of 10 m
Enugu
(a) Owerri Vm (m/s) k c (m/s) VF (m/s) VE (m/s) PD (W/m2) ED (kWh/m2)
0.5
Onitsha Jan 5.62 3.49 6.25 5.68 7.12 108.72 78.279
Probability distribution

0.4 Feb 5.67 4.86 6.19 5.90 6.64 111.65 80.387

Mar 6.30 5.75 6.81 6.58 7.17 153.15 110.271
0.3
Apr 6.22 5.11 6.77 6.49 7.22 147.39 106.123
May 5.35 4.44 5.87 5.54 6.39 93.79 67.530
0.2
Jun 5.21 4.82 5.69 5.42 6.11 86.62 62.367
0.1 Jul 5.48 5.45 5.94 5.72 6.29 100.80 72.574
Aug 5.44 3.93 6.01 5.58 6.68 98.61 70.996
0.0 Sept 4.85 4.79 5.30 5.04 5.70 69.88 50.311
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Wind speed (m/s) Oct 4.56 5.24 4.96 4.76 5.27 58.08 41.815
Nov 4.13 3.75 4.58 4.22 5.13 43.15 31.066
1.0
Dec 4.95 3.34 5.52 4.96 6.36 74.29 53.488
Enugu
(b) Owerri Annual 5.42 4.05 5.87 5.47 6.48 96.98 717.619
0.8 Onitsha Vm, mean wind speed; k, dimensionless Weibull shape parameter; c, Weibull
Cummulative distribution

scale parameter; VF, most probable wind speed; VE, wind speed carrying
maximum energy; PD, wind power density; ED, mean energy density.
0.6

0.4
and July, when it falls into class 2 (100 < PD ≤ 150), and in
March, when it falls into class 3 (150 < PD ≤ 200). How-
ever, the annual mean power density for this site is
0.2 96.98 W/m2 (class 1). For Owerri (Table 3), the minimum
and maximum values of the monthly mean wind speeds
0.0 are 2.72 and 3.70 m/s, respectively, while the annual mean
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
wind speed for this site is 3.36 m/s. The monthly mean
Wind speed (m/s)
power density varies between 11.66 W/m2 in November
Figure 1 Annual wind speed distribution. (a) Probability density and 31.02 W/m2 in January. The monthly mean power
function and (b) cumulative density function.
density falls into class 1 wind resource category (PD ≤ 100)

86.9%, respectively, while the same locations respectively Table 3 Characteristic speeds and mean power density in
have frequencies of about 88.4%, 44.7% and 55.3% for Owerri at a height of 10 m
wind speed of 3.5 m/s cut-in wind speed. According to Vm (m/s) k c (m/s) VF (m/s) VE (m/s) PD (W/m2) ED (kWh/m2)
Ojosu and Salawu [3], if a wind turbine system with a
Jan 3.52 2.61 3.96 3.29 4.92 26.71 19.234
design cut-in wind speed of 2.2 m/s is used in these sites
Feb 3.54 8.11 3.74 3.68 3.84 27.17 19.564
for wind energy resource for electricity generation, all
the sites will have frequencies of more than 92%. Mar 3.64 7.00 3.87 3.79 4.02 29.54 21.269
Apr 3.70 6.61 3.96 3.87 4.12 31.02 22.338
Mean wind speed and mean power density May 3.45 8.48 3.63 3.58 3.72 25.15 18.109
The monthly variation of the mean wind speed charac- Jun 3.55 8.46 3.74 3.68 3.83 27.40 19.730
teristics (Vm, VF and VE), mean power density and mean
Jul 3.32 6.30 3.56 3.47 3.72 22.41 16.138
energy density as well as the annual values of these para-
Aug 3.42 5.30 3.72 3.57 3.95 24.50 17.641
meters at a height of 10 m are presented in Tables 2, 3
and 4. Sept 3.31 7.01 3.53 3.45 3.66 22.21 15.993
The monthly mean wind speed varies between 4.13 m/s Oct 3.04 5.41 3.30 3.17 3.49 17.21 12.390
in November and 6.30 m/s in March for Enugu site Nov 2.67 6.28 2.97 2.88 3.10 11.66 8.394
(Table 2). The monthly mean power density varies be- Dec 3.00 4.80 3.28 3.12 3.53 16.54 11.907
tween 43.15 W/m2 in November and 153.16 W/m2 in
Annual 3.36 5.10 3.65 3.50 3.90 23.23 203.530
March. Therefore, based on PNL wind power classification
Vm, mean wind speed; k, dimensionless Weibull shape parameter; c, Weibull
scheme [23], the monthly mean power density mostly falls scale parameter; VF, most probable wind speed; VE, wind speed carrying
into class 1 (PD ≤ 100) except in January, February, April maximum energy; PD, wind power density; ED, mean energy density.
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Table 4 Characteristic speeds and mean power density in Enugu has much higher wind potentials than the other
Onitsha at a height of 10 m locations considered. However, as mentioned earlier, the ef-
Vm (m/s) k c (m/s) VF (m/s) VE (m/s) PD (W/m2) ED (kWh/m2) ficiency of a wind turbine is closely related to these para-
Jan 3.59 4.91 3.92 3.74 4.20 28.34 20.404 meters, especially VE, which should be as close as possible
Feb 3.73 4.11 4.11 3.84 4.53 31.79 22.886 to the design or rated wind speed of the system. Therefore,
the proposed wind turbine, if installed in Enugu, would
Mar 4.23 4.86 4.62 4.41 4.96 46.36 33.378
likely produce more power than other locations. Moreover,
Apr 4.07 5.00 4.44 4.24 4.75 41.29 29.732
it can be considered as the best site for wind energy devel-
May 3.76 4.71 4.11 3.91 4.43 32.56 23.442 opment in southern Nigeria (based on the three sites con-
Jun 3.72 4.55 4.08 3.86 4.42 31.53 22.702 sidered in this study). Furthermore, the monthly mean wind
Jul 3.58 4.51 3.92 3.71 4.26 28.10 20.234 speeds in south Nigeria ranges from 2.72 to 6.30 m/s. The
Aug 3.61 4.77 3.95 3.76 4.25 28.82 20.747 monthly mean power density varies between 11.66 and
153.15 W/m2, while the annual mean power density is in
Sept 3.52 4.74 3.85 3.66 4.15 26.71 19.234
the range of 23.23 to 96.98 W/m2. It can be inferred from
Oct 3.28 4.23 3.60 3.37 3.94 21.61 15.562
this analysis that the wind resource in this part of Nigeria
Nov 3.01 4.78 3.29 3.13 3.54 16.70 12.026 can be classified mostly into class 2 or less category. Fur-
Dec 3.05 3.52 3.39 3.08 3.85 17.38 12.512 thermore, the annual mean energy density varies between
Annual 3.59 4.27 3.96 3.72 4.33 28.34 248.252 203.53 and 717.62 kWh/m2.
Vm, mean wind speed; k, dimensionless Weibull shape parameter; c, Weibull Even though the wind resource in these locations falls
scale parameter; VF, most probable wind speed; VE, wind speed carrying into class 2 or less, which is considered as marginally or
maximum energy; PD, mean wind power density; ED, mean energy density.
unsuitable for wind power development, the wind power
can be used for water pumping and small-scale electri-
in all the months, and the annual mean power density for city generation, providing intermittent power require-
this site is 23.23 W/m2 (class 1). In the case of Onitsha ments for a variety of purposes that need low-energy
(Table 4), the minimum and maximum values of the capacity, slow-running high-torque wind turbines with
monthly mean wind speeds are 3.01 m/s (in November) multi-blade, e.g., [3,4,6,29]. For a modern wind turbine,
and 4.23 m/s (in March), respectively. The monthly mean the cut-in wind speed required by it to start generating
power density varies between 16.70 W/m2 in November electricity is generally between 3 to 5 m/s. Depending on
and 46.36 W/m2 in March. The monthly mean power the size of the turbine, the peak power output can be
density falls into class 1 wind resource category (PD ≤ 100) attained when the wind speed (rated wind speed) is in
in all the months, and the annual mean power density for the range of 10 to 15 m/s [6]. For water pumping, wind
this site is 28.34 W/m2 (class 1). Detailed information turbine can be operated at a lower wind speed; however,
about these sites' wind speed characteristics (mean wind they can function effectively when the wind speed is
speed, most probable wind speed (VF) and the wind speed more than 3 m/s. Based on the required quantity of
carrying maximum energy (VE)) and mean power density water, a site with a mean wind speed around 2.0 m/s can
are illustrated in Tables 2, 3 and 4. be considered for wind-powered pump application [30].
The least monthly value of the Weibull shape param- Similarly, depending on the end use of the generated
eter k for Owerri is 2.61 in January and reached the high- power, it can be concluded that these locations may be
est value of 8.48 in the month of May. Therefore, the suitable for utilization of wind energy.
wind speed is most uniform in Owerri in May, while it is
least uniform in December. The annual shape factors for
Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha are 4.05, 5.10 and 4.27, re- Performance of selected wind turbines
spectively. The least monthly value of Weibull scale par- Seven small- to medium-size commercial wind turbine
ameter c is obtained as 2.97 m/s in the month of models with rated power range from 50 to 1,000 kW
November in Owerri, and the highest value of 6.81 m/s [31-33] were selected to simulate their performance at
in the month of March in Enugu. The annual shape fac- Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha. These are P15-50, P19-100,
tors for Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha are 5.87, 3.65 and P50-500 and P62-1000 models (Polaris America LLC,
3.96 m/s, respectively. Lakewood, NJ, USA ); WES30 model (Wind Energy
In summary, Enugu has the highest annual mean wind Solutions BV, The Netherlands); WWD-1-60 model
speed among the sites considered in this study. Also, this (Winwind, Espoo, Finland) and BONUS 1000–54 (Sie-
site has the highest values of annual power density. Even mens AG, Erlangen, Germany). The selected wind tur-
though the most probable wind speed (VF) is a statistical bine models and their characteristic properties are given
characteristic, which may not be directly connected to in Table 5. For each location, the annual energy output
wind energy [21], it does not necessarily mean that and capacity factor based on Weibull distribution
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Table 5 Characteristics of the selected wind turbines

POLARIS P15-50 POLARIS P19-100 WES30 POLARIS P50-500 POLARIS P62-1000 WWD-1-60 BONUS-1000-54
Rated power (kW) 50 100 250 500 1,000 1,000 1,000
Hub height (m) 30 30 36 50 60 70 45
Rotor diameter (m) 15.2 19.1 30 50 62 60 54
Cut-in wind speed (m/s) 2.5 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.5 3.6 3
Rated wind speed (m/s) 10 12 12.5 12 12 12.5 14
Cut-out wind speed (m/s) 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
[12,31-33].

function parameters at their respective hub height are the POLARIS 62–1000 will likely perform better than
determined using Equations 17 and 18, respectively. WWD-1-60 and BONUS-1000-54 because of its low cut-
The performance of the selected wind turbine models in wind speed and rated wind speed as well as its bigger
at all the locations is presented in Figure 2. The figure rotor diameter compared with other models.
clearly reveals that irrespective of the wind turbine The cost effectiveness of a wind turbine can be roughly
model, Enugu seems to be the best site for wind power estimated by the capacity factor of the turbine. This factor
development for electricity generation. This is expected is a useful parameter for both consumer and manufacturer
because, when compared with other sites, Enugu has the of the wind turbine system [24]. The WWD-1-60 model
highest annual mean wind speed and highest value of VE
at the hub height for each turbine. The annual energy
output for Enugu ranges from about 113 MWh/year
using POLARIS 19–100 model to 2,444 MWh using 2500
(a)
Average annual energy output (kWh/year)

Enugu
WWD-1-60 model. Among the 1,000-kW model turbines, Owerri
the WWD-1-60 model produced the highest power out- 2000 Onitsha
put, closely followed by the POLARIS 62–1000 (2,431
MWh/year), while BONUS 1000–54 produced the least 1500
power (849 MWh/year). This observed trend is related to
the hub height and rotor diameter (which are lowest for
1000
the BONUS model), the design or rated wind speed (high-
est for the BONUS model, 14 m/s) and the cut-in wind
500
speed (highest for the WWD-1-60 model, 3.6 m/s). Even
though the hub height of the WWD-1-60 model is higher
than that of the POLARIS 62 model, the POLARIS 62 0
P15 P19 WES30 P50 P62 WWD BONUS
model still produced almost the same amount of power Wind turbine models
(2,431 MWh/year) due to its lower cut-in wind speed and
35
rated wind speed. Furthermore, it is observed that the en-
ergy output from the POLARIS 15–50 model is slightly Enugu (b)
30 Owerri
more than the power output from the POLARIS 19–100 Onitsha
model. This is because both models have the same hub 25
Capacity factor, Cf (%)

height, and the POLARIS 19–100 model has higher rated

20
wind speed than the POLARIS 15–50 model.
The minimum annual energy outputs of 6.05 and 15
18.83 MWh/year are observed for Owerri and Onitsha,
respectively, using the P19-100 model. While the max- 10
imum annual energy outputs are 178.58 and 461.32
5
MWh/year, respectively, for Owerri and Onitsha with
the WWD-1-60 model. For each of these sites, the power 0
generated by each wind turbine follows the same trend P15 P19 WES30 P50 P62 WWD BONUS

observed in Enugu. Regardless of the location, the Wind turbine models

WWD-1-60 wind turbine model produced the highest Figure 2 The performance of the selected wind turbine models
quantity of annual energy output. For example, if 1,000- for all the locations. (a) Average annual energy output and (b)
capacity factor.
kW turbines are to be operated at the same hub height,
Oyedepo et al. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering 2012, 3:7 Page 8 of 11
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has the highest value among the models considered for all speed of around 9 m/s and cut-out wind speed of 20 m/s
the sites. The Cf values for this model are 27.90%, 2.04% are recommended for Onitsha.
and 5.27% for Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha, respectively.
The Cf values for Enugu for POLARIS 15–50, POLARIS
62–1000 and WWD-1-60 are 28.30%, 27.75% and 27.90%, Wind-powered pumps performance
respectively. These values are greater than the suggested In this section, the performance of wind-powered pumps
recommended value before an investment can be consid- assumed to be located in each of the locations considered
ered worthwhile. Hence, these wind turbines or similar tur- in this study is presented and discussed. For the perform-
bine model will be good for electricity generation in Enugu. ance assessment, a wind turbine model with a rated power
In Owerri, however, the capacity factor for other wind tur- of about 0.36 kW is chosen. The characteristic properties
bine models ranges from 0.49% for the BONUS-1000-54 of this wind turbine model and the specifications of the
model to 2.04% for the WWD-1-60 model. Similarly, the pumps are given in Table 6. The wind turbine characteris-
minimum and maximum capacity factors at Onitsha are tics are similar to the FT-2.5 wind turbine model (produced
1.62% for the BONUS-1000-54 model and 5.27% for the in China, according to [35]) [35,36] for water pumping.
WWD-1-60 model, respectively. Therefore, these two sites The hub height of the wind turbine is assumed to be 15 m,
may be considered for wind energy development for small- which is within the hub height range for common commer-
scale applications such as water pumping (see ‘Wind-pow- cial wind turbines for water-pumping application [30]. The
ered pumps performance’). It should be noted that the cost pump head of 10 m is used for the analysis. This pump
of generating electricity using wind turbine is inversely pro- head was chosen because it is within the range of the water
portional to the capacity factor. The higher the capacity table level of 3 to 20 m in this part of Nigeria [37] and
factor (or higher wind speed regime), the lower the cost of within the range of the design lifting height of 5 to 10 m
generated electricity, assuming that all factors remain the for the FT-2.5 windmill [35]. The monthly mean wind
same (see, e.g., Paul et al. [34]). speeds at hub height at each selected site are computed
Based on the annual energy output and the capacity fac- using Equations 9 and 10. The quantity of water pumped
tor, the POLARIS 62–1000 and WWD-1-60 models or per month is computed using Equation 23. This equation
wind turbines with similar designed characteristics will be was solved using Wind Energy Resource Analysis software
best suited for electricity generation at Enugu and small- developed by Mathew [25]. The software is based on Ray-
scale application in other locations. However, by redesign- leigh distribution function and requires the mean wind
ing the selected wind turbine models to operate at lower speed, wind turbine and pump parameters as inputs.
cut-in wind speed (especially the WWD-1-60 and The comparison between water produced per month by
BONUS-100-54 models), lower rated wind speed (espe- rotodynamic pump at the three locations is presented in
cially BONUS-100-54) and higher hub height compared Table 7. As expected from the wind speed frequency distri-
with their current design parameters (cut-in and rated bution, the amount of water output from the pump at
wind speeds and hub height), both the annual energy out- Enugu is highest among the three locations. In Enugu, the
put and capacity factor could significantly be improved. monthly water output varies between about 3,136 and
For instance, if POLARIS 62–1000 is to be operated at a 3,512 m3, and the average volume discharge is about
hub height of 70 m and rated wind speed of 10 m/s, the
capacity factor for Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha will be
59.17%, 8.20% and 16.99%, respectively. However, increas- Table 6 Wind turbine parameters and rotodynamic pump
ing the hub height may increase the overall capital cost of specifications
the wind turbines. But this is compensated for by increased Parameters/specifications Value
in capacity factor and, hence, the energy output from the Wind turbine
wind turbines. Diameter (m) 2.5
In order to meet the minimum recommended capacity Rated power (W) 360
factor (25%) for electricity generation, the following design
Rated speed (m/s) 7
parameters are suggested: wind turbine model with a mini-
mum hub height of 55 m, cut-in wind speed of less than Cut-in speed (m/s) 2.5
3.5 m/s, rated wind speed of around 12 m/s and cut-out Cut-out speed (m/s) 10
wind speed of 25 m/s are recommended for Enugu; for Design speed ratio 2
Owerri, wind turbine with a minimum height of 75 m, cut- Design power coefficient 0.35
in wind speed of less than 3.5 m/s, rated wind speed of Pump
around 8.5 m/s and cut-out wind speed of 20 m/s are
Efficiency (pump and transmission) 0.6
recommended; while a system with a minimum hub height
of 65 m, cut-in wind speed of less than 3.5 m/s, rated wind Gear ratio 10
Oyedepo et al. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering 2012, 3:7 Page 9 of 11
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Table 7 Monthly water produced and the number of habitants that can be served per month
Month Enugu Owerri Onitsha
Vm Q Habitants Habitants Vm Q Habitants Habitants Vm Q Habitants Habitants
3 3 3
(m/s) (m ) 50 L/day 36 L/day (m/s) (m ) 50 L/day 36 L/day (m/s) (m ) 50 L/day 36 L/day
Jan 6.16 3,511.51 2,341 3,251 3.92 2,687.47 1,792 2,488 4.00 2,752.48 1,835 2,549
Feb 6.21 3,510.02 2,340 3,250 3.95 2,710.74 1,807 2,510 4.15 2,859.98 1,907 2,648
Mar 6.88 3,436.48 2,291 3,182 4.05 2,787.89 1,859 2,581 4.69 3,194.29 2,130 2,958
Apr 6.79 3,450.62 2,300 3,195 4.12 2,843.95 1,896 2,633 4.52 3,100.75 2,067 2,871
May 5.87 3,507.62 2,338 3,248 3.85 2,633.46 1,756 2,438 4.18 2,885.82 1,924 2,672
Jun 5.72 3,495.80 2,331 3,237 3.96 2,721.07 1,814 2,520 4.14 2,857.08 1,905 2,645
Jul 6.01 3,512.36 2,342 3,252 3.71 2,510.67 1,674 2,325 3.98 2,738.42 1,826 2,536
Aug 5.97 3,511.42 2,341 3,251 3.82 2,605.90 1,737 2,413 4.03 2,770.28 1,847 2,565
Sept 5.34 3,432.44 2,288 3,178 3.70 2,502.78 1,669 2,317 3.93 2,692.31 1,795 2,493
Oct 5.04 3,343.72 2,229 3,096 3.41 2,232.75 1,489 2,067 3.65 2,460.31 1,640 2,278
Nov 4.58 3,136.10 2,091 2,904 3.11 1,936.35 1,291 1,793 3.38 2,205.90 1,471 2,043
Dec 5.45 3,456.25 2,304 3,200 3.37 2,192.40 1,462 2,030 3.42 2,240.39 1,494 2,074
Hub height is assumed as 15 m. Vm, the mean wind speed; Q, water produced at a given time.

3,442 m3/month. In Owerri, where the pump has the least or more wind turbines can be installed in these sites in
performance among the three sites, the monthly water order to increase the quantity of water produced.
output varies between 1,936 and 2,844 m3 with an average
discharge volume of about 2,530 m3/month. In the case of Conclusions
Onitsha, the monthly water output varies between about In this study, the wind speed and wind energy potential
2,206 and 3,194 m3, and the average volume discharge is in selected three locations in the southeastern part of Ni-
about 2,730 m3/month. Therefore, all the sites have strong geria were investigated. In addition, the performance of
potential for wind energy development for water pumping. selected commercial wind turbine models designed for
In fact, wind resource in these sites could also be used for both electricity generation and water pumping located in
electricity generation, as previously shown. these sites was investigated. The findings from this study
The total numbers of habitants that can be served by can be summarized as follows:
water discharged from these sites are also shown in Table 7.
Based on water usage of 36 L/capita/day in Nigeria as of 1. The annual mean wind speeds for Enugu, Owerri
2006 [38], the water output at Enugu can serve between and Onitsha are 5.42, 3.36 and 3.59 m/s,
2,900 and 3,250 habitants depending on the month. The respectively. The annual values of the wind speed
average number of people that can be served per month is carrying maximum energy for these locations are
estimated to be around 3,190. However, if the estimate is respectively 6.48, 4.33 and 3.90 m/s.
based on the minimum recommended water usage of 50 L/ 2. The mean annual value of Weibull shape parameter
capita/day [38], the water produced can only serve about k is between 4.05 and 5.10, while the annual value of
2,290 habitants per month on average. In Owerri, the water scale parameter c is between 3.96 and 5.87 m/s.
produced can serve about 2,340 and 1,690 habitants per 3. The annual mean power density for Enugu, Owerri
month on average based on 36 and 50 L/capita/day, re- and Onitsha are 96.98, 23.23 and 28.34 W/m2,
spectively, while the total numbers of habitants that can be respectively. Therefore, based on the wind data used
served by the water produced in Onitsha are 2,530 and in this study, the wind energy resource in south-east
1,820/month on average based on water usage of 36 and Nigeria may generally be classified into class 1.
50 L/capita/day, respectively. Therefore, for small rural However, based on monthly mean power density, the
communities scattered across the southeastern part of Ni- wind resource may fall into higher class category in
geria where access to good water and unreliable supply of some cases.
water is a regular problem, wind resource development for 4. Based on the capacity factor, the POLARIS 15–50,
water pumping will be a good option. For a larger commu- POLARIS 62–1000 and WWD-1-60 models or wind
nity, the performance of a pump can be increased if a wind turbines with similar designed characteristics will be
turbine with higher rated power (or diameter) is used in- best suited for electricity generation in Enugu.
stead of the small size used in this study. In addition, two However, in order to meet the minimum
Oyedepo et al. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering 2012, 3:7 Page 10 of 11
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doi:10.1186/2251-6832-3-7
Cite this article as: Oyedepo et al.: Analysis of wind speed data and
wind energy potential in three selected locations in south-east Nigeria.
International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering 2012 3:7.

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