ASSESSMENT OF WIND POWER POTENTIAL OF SIX SITES IN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Identification of renewable energy sources such as wind is essential for the development of a country like Ethiopia, where there exists a high potential for wind power. In this study, an attempt was made to examine the wind energy potential of six sites in southern Ethiopia. Weibull distribution function was used to analyze five years daily wind speed, daily temperature and pressure of the areas. Data pertaining to the wind speed, temperature and pressure were obtained from national meteorology agency of Ethiopia. According to the data analysis of this research the two sties (Wolyta Soddo and Dilla) are suitable for large scale grid-connected wind. However, all the sites have more than 50% chance that the wind speeds are greater than 4ms-1 and hence are suitable for stand-alone electrical and mechanical applications, such as battery charging and water pumping.