Wind Energy Resource Assessment for Electricity Generation In Maroua

In order to secure future energy and protect the environment, it is important to consider the possibilities of wind as a resource for electrical energy supply. The locality of Maroua in the Far North of Cameroon has been selected to carry out our study in which, an assessment of the wind energy resource has been made. Different kinds of data have been collected about wind, topography, and roughness. The Wind Atlas and the wind speed map have been determined and illustrated especially in the high wind resource areas using for this task, the WAsP software. The Annual Energy Production (AEP) of one hypothetical wind farm consisting of six 2.5 MW turbines has been estimated. The computed AEP is 16,330 MWh and this production could save the rejection of 3300 tons of CO2 per year. On the other hand, we have carried out a CFD study of the flow around a naca0012 airfoil. For an optimal wind turbine performance, the maximum lift to drag ratio has been obtained for an angle of attack of 9°. We are expecting that with the African research collaborations, the involvement of public and private investors, this project could be more investigated and realized in the future. Keywords: Resource assessment, wind energy, wind potential, CFD, airfoil.