Wind resource assessment of northern part of Thailand

• Published in: Ain Shams Engineering Journal Vol. 14; no. 7; p. 102025
• Main Authors: Tariq Khan, Thanansak Theppaya, Juntakan Taweekun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 01-07-2023
• Subjects: Northern Thailand; Renewable energy; Simulation; Sustainable energy; Wind energy
• ISSN: 2090-4479
• DOI: 10.1016/j.asej.2022.102025

With the unpleasant occurrences of climate change and global warming, there is an inevitable need to generate energy from renewable sources. Energy generation from burning coal, extracting fuel, ignition of CO2, exploiting tar sands, or any other environmentally unfriendly resources are hazardous to our planet. Therefore, the world needs to switch towards renewable sources. Wind energy has developed across the globe due to being the most eco-friendly, comparatively efficient, and affordable. Thailand has a higher potential for wind energy because of the median height of 287 m above sea level with a soaring altitude of 2565 m above sea level. In addition to this, Thailand has a higher energy wind potential are of 550 km2. Regarding this, Thailand has realized wind energy is a strong potential renewable energy resource that needs to be developed. To fulfill energy demands, the prospect of particular provinces concerning wind power and the capacity of electrical energy acquired from wind energy has been studied. Consequently, with the data derived from the specific regions, consisting of 13 different stations at 10 m height and 10 min interval, the wind energy potential has been evaluated for each region in the WASP (Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program). In addition, 7 stations data was processable among 13 stations. In this program, the wind data acquired from the study area consists of Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sa Riang, Pha Yao, Theon, and Thung Chang with the latitude and longitude through meteorological stations and entered as an input to the WASP. WAsP simulation software was used to analyze the data generated, which is considered to be among the best simulation applications worldwide. As a result, the potential areas for electricity generation are identified. This study supports the generation of renewable energy in particular northern regions of Thailand and accordingly the purpose is to provide guidelines and contributions to the researchers and related organizations to further dig into which can substitute the conventional methods and economically provide energy.