Evaluation and Zoning of Wind Power in Hormozgan Province, Iran

Limited resources of fossil energies and climate change have encouraged countries to use renewable energies like wind energy. Although Iran has enormous natural resources of fossil fuels, environmental considerations and the depletion of these resources in the future have increased interest in renewable energies. In this paper, the magnitude and power of wind in Hormozgan province, southern Iran were investigated and classified. The long coastlines and several islands of this province have provided suitable conditions for exploiting wind energy. Collecting data related to speed and direction of the wind, the magnitude and power of zonal and meridional winds were calculated. A cluster analysis on wind magnitude showed the central regions of the province has less productive energy potentials than other regions. From central to the surrounding areas, there is an increased amount of energy potential. Wind power was estimated by the different rotor radius of turbines in the province. In islands, wind magnitude was more than 1/5m.s^(-1), which increases energy potential production in the cold months. In eastern regions, up to 68000 w.m^(-2) power could be produced.