Wind resource assessment in Algeria

• Algerian wind resource assessment by statistical analysis.
• Use of more recent meteorological data, collected from 87 measurement points.
• Contribution to the updating of the Algerian wind map at 10 m a.g.l.
• Technical and economic analysis of six WECs at the four windiest regions.
• Windiest cities in the South can be visionary and produce energy themselves.

In this work the Algerian wind resource assessment is made using statistical analysis based on the measured wind speed data in the last decade from 63 meteorological stations distributed over the Algerian territory and 24 in neighboring countries close boundaries. Weibull distribution is used to study the monthly, seasonal and annual wind power potential over the country. Technical and economic evaluations of electricity generation from different commercial wind turbines, ranging between 200 kW and 2 MW are examined for four selected locations in Algeria for their greatest wind potential. The results led to the actualization of the wind map in Algeria which gave an enhancement of wind energy potential in the eastern region of the Sahara, the occidental Highlands region, three coastal regions open to the Mediterranean Sea and the extreme south of the country, while it has been downgraded in two regions situated in the north. The temporal study gives spring as the windiest period over the largest part of the country. The energy cost analyses show that the four windiest sites have good economic potential where the minimum cost per kWh is about 2.8 c$/kWh, assessed at the site of Hassi R’mel using the Gamesa G80/2000 wind turbine of 2 MW rated capacity, which generates the highest annual energy of 5.46 GWh with a capacity factor of 0.31.