Volume 8 Issue 2 ( June 2021 )

This study presents an analysis of wind power potentials for two meteorological stations in the eastern part of Malaysia using the statistical Weibull distribution method over a period of ten years stretching from 2010 to 2019. As the estimation of the resource potentials is crucial towards the planning of a wind energy project, the primary objective of this study is to reveal the characteristics and potentials of the two selected sites. The results show that the highest annual average wind speed was 3.4 m/s at Kudat station and 2.3 m/s at Santubong station. The maximum shape and scale parameters were respectively 1.68 and 2.88 m/s and both appeared at Kudat station. The wind power density ranged between 9.45 W/m2 and 24.24 W/m2. The maximum energy density at Kudat was 207.60 kWh/m2/year and 106.01 kWh/m2/year at Santubong. The most probable wind speeds and wind carrying maximum energy were predicted at 1.68 m/s and 4.59 m/s and both speeds were observed at Kudat in 2019. The maximum deviation between observed frequencies and Weibull frequency distributions was around 27%. While the wind power at each site differs considerably, both of these two stations fall outside of the category of pacific northwest national laboratory (PNNL) classifications due to their low mean wind speeds. Nevertheless, it can be categorized for a smaller scale of wind power generation at a wind turbine elevation of more than 10 m.

Keywords: wind resource assessment; wind energy potential; Weibull distribution function; Santubong; Kudat; East Malaysia