International Journal of Advanced Engineering and Technology

Authors
Ogbeide OO, Ikpoza E, Eboigbe CI

Abstract
Energy has been and will continue to be the driver of economy of a nation. In sharp contrast, our country Nigeria is being faced with energy poverty. This may accrue to, in part, over reliance conventional energy sources such as hydro power, fuels and gas etc. So, there is need to take into consideration the renewable energy as potential alternative for power generation. This work seeks to assess the wind energy potential of Edo state using a statistical method, two-parameter Weibull distribution function. The detailed knowledge of the wind characteristics at a site is very crucial to install and estimate the performance of a wind energy project. The monthly and yearly highest mean wind speeds were 3.28 m/s and 2.91 m/s respectively. The monthly highest values of the Weibull shape parameter (k) and the Weibull scale parameter (c) were 5.79 and 4.11 m/s. The maximum wind power density was found to be 26.76 W/m² for the year 2008.The most probable wind speed and wind speed carrying maximum energy were estimated 2.84 m/s and 4.53 m/s in 2015. The result of the study shows that the wind energy potential of Edo state is quite low for electricity generation based on the two-year wind data analysed. It is suggested that this research area should be intensified by collecting wind speed data at various locations sufficient to define its potential for power generation.