Analysis of Wind Speed Characteristics and Wind Turbine Parameters Estimation Corresponding to North Part of Iraq

Wind energy is considered the world's second sustainable energy source after solar energy was utilized to generate electrical energy. Iraq's accession to the Paris Climate Agreement encouraged the government to involve small and large projects in generating electricity from renewable energy sources, including wind. This requires preliminary studies on the feasibility of investing in renewable energy sources in Iraq. This work was concerned with analyzing wind energy for the city of Sinjar-Nineveh in northern Iraq to determine the extent of the potential of wind energy in generating electrical energy in that region. The wind speed and direction in the area were analyzed at three altitudes for 44 years. The results showed that the northwest direction is dominant, and the average speed is 4.6, 4.8, and 5.0 m/s at altitudes of 50, 70, and 100 m, respectively. Among the Maximum Likelihood, Least Squares, and WAsP methods, the Least Squares method was the best in estimating the Weibull coefficients. The results showed that the power density equals 116, 130, and 146 W/m2 at the above altitudes. Four types of turbines were assumed to achieve the highest capacity factor within the study area using Windographer program analysis. It was concluded that the specifications of the EWT DW52-500 turbine (WT-A) achieved the highest energy production rates at the three altitudes in the study area with a capacity factor of 19% before mechanical and electrical losses and 15% after assuming these losses.