Avaliação do potencial eólico em uma região do sul do Brasil

Knowledge of wind behavior plays a key role in the production of wind energy, in ambient ventilation and in air quality. In this study the wind speed behavior in Cachoeira do Sul (RS) is analyzed. Wind speed data was measured by a sonic anemometer and it was used to estimate the potential for power generation in the period from 2010 to 2014. One of the methodologies used for the study of wind was the statistical analysis using functions of probability density. There are several models of probability distribution in the literature for time series of data. For wind data, the most commonly used distribution is the Weibull function.This distribution is considered to be the most adequate for wind characterization and is also applied in the analysis of rainfall data,clarity index, water level prediction, among other applications. Thus, the objective of the present study is to obtain preliminary estimates of the wind potential of Cachoeira do Sul (RS) using the Weibull probability distribution to estimate the wind power. The results show that wind power is below 500W=m2 (in 50 m) which indicates low wind potential.