On the wind power potential in the northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico

Abstract

Wind power density, vertical velocity profiles, and other wind characteristics were established using a 51 m meteorological mast located very close to the shoreline on the northwest of the Yucatan peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. A comparative study of the wind power density was carried out using information obtained between September 2010 and September 2011. The wind speed probability density function was found to be bimodal due to sea-land breezes, a characteristic that becomes less evident as the vertical distance to the ground increases. The distinction between these two wind regimes was used to fit the Weibull-Weibull curve using a linear least-squares criterion in the parameters. In addition, numerical simulations from a mesoscale model are in close agreement with measurements above z=50m (z is the vertical distance to the ground). This result suggests that some mesoscale simulations may serve as a preliminary wind energy assessment tool in coastal zones with extended low-lying areas.