Wind availability and its power utility for electricity production in Bahrain

The long term wind speed and direction available at Bahrain (1978-1998) has been analysed and studied. The average annual wind speed was found to be equal to 4.7 ms-1 which indicates the suitability of using only small size wind parks (blade diameter of not more than 2 m) to produce electricity to fulfill the deficient electrical power at night during summer season in Bahrain. The wind direction was found very varient which makes it useful to use wind parks for limited spaces - this meets the requirement for Bahrain (area of 700 km2). These wind parks can be installed near the sea shores or off-shores. The extractable power was found to vary from 36 Wm-2 to 160 Wm-2. (Author)