Offshore Wind Energy Resource Assessment across the Territory of Oman: A Spatial-Temporal Data Analysis

Amer Al-Hinai, Yassine Charabi and Seyed H. Aghay Kaboli
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Amer Al-Hinai: Sustainable Energy Research Center, Sultan Qaboos University, 123 Muscat, Oman
Yassine Charabi: Center for Environmental Studies and Research, Sultan Qaboos University, 123 Muscat, Oman
Seyed H. Aghay Kaboli: Sustainable Energy Research Center, Sultan Qaboos University, 123 Muscat, Oman

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: Despite the long shoreline of Oman, the wind energy industry is still confined to onshore due to the lack of knowledge about offshore wind potential. A spatial-temporal wind data analysis is performed in this research to find the locations in Oman’s territorial seas with the highest potential for offshore wind energy. Thus, wind data are statistically analyzed for assessing wind characteristics. Statistical analysis of wind data include the wind power density, and Weibull scale and shape factors. In addition, there is an estimation of the possible energy production and capacity factor by three commercial offshore wind turbines suitable for 80 up to a 110 m hub height. The findings show that offshore wind turbines can produce at least 1.34 times more energy than land-based and nearshore wind turbines. Additionally, offshore wind turbines generate more power in the Omani peak electricity demand during the summer. Thus, offshore wind turbines have great advantages over land-based wind turbines in Oman. Overall, this work provides guidance on the deployment and production of offshore wind energy in Oman. A thorough study using bankable wind data along with various logistical considerations would still be required to turn offshore wind potential into real wind farms in Oman.

Keywords: data analysis; offshore wind energy; sultanate of Oman; wind assessment; wind turbine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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