Analysis of Wind Data and Assessment of Wind Energy Potential in Lamhiriz Village, Morocco

Morocco has pursued an ambitious policy aimed at boosting renewable energies in the country. On this basis, we have examined the possibility of using wind turbines to generate electricity in Lamhiriz village in the south of Morocco, known for its strong winds. The wind speeds were statistically studied using the data recorded over one-year period collected from the mast which contains a set of measuring instruments at different altitudes. Based on several studies, we selected Weibull distribution to model the wind speeds, and we used the empirical method to estimate the scale and the shape parameters. Thereafter, a detailed analysis of seasonal and annual wind direction was presented. From the obtained results, the available energy density in this area is assessed by using WAsP software. Then, six commercial wind turbines of various sizes between 300 and 1300 kW were technically evaluated for electricity generation in Lamhiriz village by calculating their capacity factors and annual energy outputs. The results showed that the site under study is an adequate location for any of the adopted wind turbine models, where the annual energy output ranges from 1.44 to 6.75 GW h. Therefore, we can conclude that Lamhiriz have an attractive economical potential for developing large wind turbine farms.