Manyeredzi, T.; Makaka, G. An Assessment of the Wind Power Generation Potential of Built Environment Wind Turbine (BEWT) Systems in Fort Beaufort, South Africa. Sustainability2018, 10, 1346.
Manyeredzi, T.; Makaka, G. An Assessment of the Wind Power Generation Potential of Built Environment Wind Turbine (BEWT) Systems in Fort Beaufort, South Africa. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1346.
Manyeredzi, T.; Makaka, G. An Assessment of the Wind Power Generation Potential of Built Environment Wind Turbine (BEWT) Systems in Fort Beaufort, South Africa. Sustainability2018, 10, 1346.
Manyeredzi, T.; Makaka, G. An Assessment of the Wind Power Generation Potential of Built Environment Wind Turbine (BEWT) Systems in Fort Beaufort, South Africa. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1346.
Abstract
The physical and economic sustainability of using Built Environment Wind Turbine (BEWT) systems depends on the wind resource potential of the candidate site. Therefore, it is crucial to carry out a wind resource assessment prior to deployment of the BEWT. The assessment results can be used as a referral tool for predicting the performance and lifespan of the BEWT in the given built environment. To date, there is limited research output on BEWTs in South Africa with available literature showing a bias towards utility-scale or conventional ground based wind energy systems. This study aimed to assess wind power generation potential of BEWT systems in Fort Beaufort using the Weibull distribution function. The results show that Fort Beaufort wind patterns can be classified as fairly good and that BEWTs can best be deployed at 15m for a fairer power output as roof height wind speeds require BEWT of very low cut-in speed of at most1.2ms−1.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Received:
11 April 2018
Commenter:
Mujere Gilbert
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment:
The article tackles the crucial and much needful expertise of harnessing wind energy. Wind power generation potential is a springboard for further developments into generation of renewable energy altenatives. The article precisely attends to the fundamementals, as well as the nitty-gritties of applicable to the comprehensive evaluation of wind generation potential, with a coherent conclusion being derived thereon
Commenter: Mujere Gilbert
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.