Preliminary Wind Resource and Indicative Techno-Economic Assessment of Mountainous Terrain: A Case Study of the Jabal Al Gharbi Region, Libya
Keywords:
Wind energy, Wind resource assessment, Mountainous terrain, Weibull distribution, Wind power density, Techno-economic analysis, Jabal Al Gharbi, LibyaAbstract
Wind energy plays a crucial role in the global transition toward sustainable energy systems due to its ability to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Despite extensive research on wind resource assessment, mountainous and complex-terrain regions remain relatively underexplored compared to coastal and flat areas. This is mainly attributed to the complexity of wind flow behavior and the higher uncertainty associated with measurements and modeling in such environments. This study presents a preliminary assessment of wind energy resources in the Jabal Al Gharbi region of western Libya, with a particular emphasis on evaluating the suitability of mountainous terrain for wind energy system design from both technical and economic perspectives.
The assessment is based on monthly mean wind speed data recorded at the Yefren meteorological station over the period 2011-2020. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine seasonal and inter-annual wind speed variability. The probabilistic characteristics of wind speed were modeled using the Wei-bull distribution, with a Rayleigh approximation adopted due to the limited temporal resolution of the available data. Wind power density was estimated accordingly, and the power law was applied to extrapolate wind speed to different turbine hub heights.
The results indicate that the overall mean wind speed at the reference height is approximately 4.35 m/s, corresponding to a wind power density of about 96 W/m², which reflects a low-to-moderate wind resource near the surface. However, wind speed extrapolation reveals a pronounced increase with height, with mean wind speeds exceeding 6.8 m/s at a hub height of 100 m. This highlights the significant influence of vertical wind shear and orographic effects in mountainous terrain, which can substantially enhance wind energy potential at elevated levels. A preliminary and indicative techno-economic evaluation was conducted for a representative 2 MW onshore wind turbine installed at a 100 m hub height using monthly averaged wind speed data provided by the Libyan National Meteorological Center (Yefren meteorological station)
.Based on conservative assumptions for annual energy production, the levelized cost of energy was estimated to range between 0.34 and 0.49 LYD/kWh. The findings suggest that, despite moderate near-surface wind speeds, mountainous regions such as Jabal Al Gharbi can offer technically and economically viable conditions for wind energy development when appropriate design considerations are applied. The study provides a foundation for future investigations incorporating high-resolution measurements and advanced modeling to reduce uncertainty in complex terrain.
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