Evaluation of offshore wind potential based on Weibull and Rayleigh Probability Distribution Functions, Case study: the Persian Gulf and theGulf of Oman

Wind energy is one of the most important sources of renewable energy. Various Probability Distribution Functions (PDFs) can be used to estimate wind energy in an area accurately. In this paper, Weibull and Rayleigh PDFs will be used to analyze the offshore wind Speed and Wind power potential in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Based on Three statistical errors, including Determination Coefficient, Chi-square error, and rootmean square error, the results of these two probability distribution functions are compared with each other. Finally, the best one is selected. For this purpose, the hourly wind speed data from the ECMWF reanalysis dataset measuring over ۱۹ years (۲۰۰۱–۲۰۱۹) were used.According to the result, the Weibull distribution function fitted the best to observed wind speed probability distribution. Based on Weibull distribution, the values of wind power density at the whole study area ranged from ۴۲ W/m۲ to ۳۶۰ W/m۲ at the height of ۸۵ m,which indicated that wind energy sources in parts of the study area are rich. The results also indicate the appropriateness of wind resources in offshore areas compared to coastal areas.

Keywords:

Wind Probability Density , Weibull Distribution , Rayleigh Distribution , MLE , The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman