Abstract

Wind is one of the promising renewable energy sources with a potential of becoming a viable alternative to fast depleting fossil fuels. Windmills have been used for centuries to grind grain and pump water in rural areas. It can be advantageously harnessed on a local basis for various applications in rural and remote areas. Water pumping for crops and plantations is probably the most important application with decentralized electricity generation that contributes in rural development through multiple cropping. Wind resource assessment is the primary step towards understanding the local wind dynamics and evaluating available potential of a region. Climatic average datasets of meteorological variables containing wind speed data for the period between 1961 and 1990 (compiled from various sources) were used for the potential assessment of wind speed in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka State, India. These were validated with the ground data of meteorological observatories at Karwar, Honnavar and Shirali which were obtained from the Indian Meteorological Department, Government of India, Pune. Analyses showed seasonal variations of wind speed in the region. Wind speed varies from 1.9 m/s (6.84 km/hr) to 3.93 m/s (14.15 km/hr) throughout the year with minimum in October and maximum in June and July (Monsoon). The district experiences annual average wind speed of 2.5 m/sto 3.0 m/s in all taluks, fostering prospects for Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) installation. Decentralized electricity generation from WECS and hybridizing wind energy systems with other locally available resources (solar, bioenergy etc.) would assure the supply of reliable energy to meet the energy demand of the respective regions.

Keywords: Windmill, mean wind speed, decentralized generation, hybridization of resources, Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS).