Wind energy potential of coastal Eritrea: An analysis of sparse wind data

This paper describes an analysis of historical surface wind data for the sm all country of Eritrea, in northeastern Africa. Winds in this region are di rected by summer and winter monsoons in addition to diurnal land-sea effect s. An analysis of national Eritrean and historical Italian wind records ind icated marginal wind resources in the central highlands near the Eritrean c apital of Asmera. An analysis of wind speed records recorded at two sites i n the southern port city of Aseb indicate mean annual 10-m wind speeds of 9 .5 m s(-1) at the windier site. Surface wind speed records for the Red Sea suggest that similar potential may be found along the lower 200 km of the E ritrean coastline. Based on these findings, wind-generated electricity in t his region should be substantially cheaper than the current supply generate d from imported diesel. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.