Wind energy assessment for selected coastal sites in Ghana

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Date
2003-11-25
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Abstract
No single energy source can meet the entire demands of a fast developing country like Ghana; hence optimal utilization of a mix of different energy sources has become inevitable. The main objective of this work is to assess wind energy potential of four selected coastal sites in Ghana using data from the Energy Commission of Ghana. The four locations were Aplaku, Mankoadze, Warabeba and Oshiyie located along the coast of Ghana. Characteristics of wind regimes and availability of wind energy resources for the four locations have been studied. Statistical analysis of the wind speeds measured at 12m above the ground level involving fitting of observed cumulative distribution to Weibull function, determination of the Weibull parameters and evaluation of wind power density using JMP statistical package was carried out. The potential of wind power in the coastal sites was further investigated by determining the frequency, wind direction and velocity over one year period using wind data measured at ten minutes interval The velocity duration curves for the four selected sites were drawn and the power outputs and levelised production cost have been estimated for four selected wind turbines namely, Bonus 300/33.4, Nordex 600/43 and Bonus 1000/54. The annual mean wind speed at a height of 12 m above ground level for the four locations, namely, Aplaku, Mankoadze, Warabeba and Oshiyie are 4.75 m/s, 4.51 m/s, 4.0 m/s and 3.88 m/s respectively and the corresponding annual wind power densities are 103.91 W/m2, 97.78 W/m2, 60.78 W/m2 and 77.98 W/m2. The estimated levelised production cost of electricity for the four selected turbines ranges between 6.08-7.32 cents/kWh for Aplaku, 6.6-8.0 cents/kWh for Mankoadze, 8.3- 9.9 cents/kWh for Warabeba and 11.0-12.5 cents/kWh for Oshiyie. Thus, the four sites hold potential for wind energy exploitation.
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A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, 2003
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