Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 91 (2003) 1203–1214 Wind turbine utilization for water pumping in Jordan Omar Badran* Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Al-Balqa Applied University, P.O. Box 331006, Amman 11133, Jordan Abstract This paper presents a survey of wind turbine water-pumping applications in Jordan, either by direct pumping through mechanical means, or indirectly by generating electric power to drive pumps. Up until now Jordan does not have any proven indigenous traditional energy resources such as coal, gas, or oil. Therefore, we have to look at renewable energy resources with all sincerity and concern to utilize it for multi-purpose functions such as water pumping. We recommend using wind energy to meet the energy requirements for remote villages, settlements, and farms of Jordan. r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Man has used wind power for some 2000 years. Starting with crude sail-type vanes, windmill design progressed through the old Dutch four-blade horizontal axis machines, to very efficient one, two, and three blade high-speed machines which use the latest in high-lift, low drag airfoils, and light-weight, high strength structural materials [1–4]. Today windmills are staging a come back thanks to rising conventional energy prices and the threat of power shortages. With the rise of oil prices in the early 1970s, the interest in wind pumps revived. However, the introduction of the existing classic multibladed windmills in the developing countries has been hampered due to the cost of importing them (or importing the materials needed to make them) and to maintenance requirements. But as new and more efficient wind turbines are developed, and as production costs are lowered through the use of materials obtained locally, the costs of pumping water with wind pumps ARTICLE IN PRESS *Corresponding author. Fax: +962-6-4613452. E-mail address: o badran@yahoo.com (O.O. Badran). 0167-6105/$ - see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0167-6105(03)00073-4