Assessment of Wind and Solar Energy Resources in Bangladesh

Wind and solar energy are the alternative energy sources that can be used to supplement the conventional energy sources particularly in Bangladesh. In this work, the aim was to assess the current wind and solar energy potential in Bangladesh. The wind data for the five stations obtained from Local Government Engineering Department have been assessed, but only two of them seem to be eligible for energy production. Annual average, monthly average and hourly average wind speeds, and wind power densities were calculated from the wind data. The Weibull distribution parameters (c and k), the dominant wind directions and the frequency distributions were also determined. Experimentally measured solar radiation data are not available over Bangladesh. Measured climatological data such as cloud cover and sunshine duration data of Bangladesh Meteorological Department from 1992 to 2001 were used for the estimation of global solar radiation as they are correlated. Techno-economic feasibility analysis is done for 100 kW grid connected wind and solar photovoltaic systems. Renewable energy-based system will bring more environmental benefits than conventional power in terms of human health, reduction of air pollution, and decrease of noise, etc. However, in the above estimation, these were not considered.