Statistical Analysis of Wind Power Density Based on the Weibull and Rayleigh Models of Selected Site in Malaysia

Abstract

The demand for electricity in Malaysia is growing in tandem with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Malaysia is going to need even more energy as it strives to grow towards a high-income economy. Malaysia has taken steps to exploring the renewable energy (RE) including wind energy as an alternative source for generating electricity. In the present study, the wind energy potential of the site is statistically analyzed based on 1-year measured hourly time-series wind speed data. Wind data were obtained from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD) weather stations at nine selected sites in Malaysia. The data were calculated by using the MATLAB programming to determine and generate the Weibull and Rayleigh distribution functions. Both Weibull and Rayleigh models are fitted and compared to the Field data probability distributions of year 2011. From the analysis, it was shown that the Weibull distribution is fitting the Field data better than the Rayleigh distribution for the whole year 2011. The wind power density of every site has been studied based on the Weibull and Rayleigh functions. The Weibull distribution shows a good approximation for estimation of wind power density in Malaysia.