The Potential for Wind-Generated Electricity in Mauritius

Abstract

Mauritius must achieve a twofold increase in its wind energy production every five years in order to attain its renewable energy development objectives. This article evaluates the feasibility of such a scenario by assessing the wind power potential at five strategic locations using a two-parameter Weibull distribution. Data used consist of wind speed measurements collected in 10-min time series format over a period of five years. The results showed that the monthly mean wind speed was highest at Plaisance with a maximum of 5.46 m/s occurring in July and a minimum of 3.91 m/s in May. During the winter months of July to October, stronger average wind speeds prevailed at all the sites. It was also found that all the sites exhibited narrow and sharp wind probability density functions. It was further determined that the annual mean power density was highest at Plaisance with a value of 67.96 W/m² followed by Vacoas, Medine, Pamplemousses, and FUEL. The results suggest that Plaisance and Vacoas would be best suited for autonomous and distributed generation applications on a small to medium scale.

Keywords:

• Mauritius
• Mean wind speed
• Weibull distribution
• Wind power density
• Wind power potential

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge the help of the Mauritius Meteorological Services for providing the measurement data used in this study.