Renewable Energy Vol. 3, No. 2/3, pp. 185-188, 1993 0960-1481/93 $6.00+.00 Printed in Great Britain. Pergamon Press Ltd THE AVAILABLE WIND POWER IN BAHRAIN W. E. ALNASER Department of Physics, University of Bahrain, P.O. Box 32038, Bahrain Abstract--The available wind power in Bahrain has been estimated using four methods. The power density was found to be 60.0, 63.5, 54.5 and 167.0 W m- 2, respectively. The power obtained from a wind generator module (1 m in diameter) was reported and compared with the estimated results. Comparison between the available wind and solar power in an urban area in the State of Bahrain is also discussed in this paper. INTRODUCTION The kinetic energy in a parcel of air of mass m moving at speed u (m s- ~) in the x-direction is [1] u = ½mu2 = ½pAxu 2 (J), (1) where A is the cross-sectional area (m2), p is the density of air (kg m- 3) and x is the thickness of the parcel (m). Wind power is the time derivative of the kinetic energy du _ ½pAu 2 dx Pw - dt ~ = ½uAu 3 (W). (2) A wind turbine will extract power from side x with eq. (2) representing the total power available at this surface for possible extraction. The density of air can be calculated using the following equation P p = 3.485 ~ (kg m 3), (3) where P is the pressure (kPa) and T is the temperature (K). Then 1.742 3 Pw - ~ PAu-, (W). (4) Taking P = 101.3 kPa and T = 273 K, this reduces eq. (4) to Pw = 0 .647Au3 (W). (5) It is to be noted that eq. (4) should be used whenever the wind turbine elevation is more than a few hundred meters above sea level or the temperature is sig- nificantly above 0°C. Typical instantaneous power in 1 m z of wind at speed of 5 m s- ~ "continuous" is 81 W, i.e. 7 MW per day or 210 MW per month. In this paper we are studying the wind potential in Bahrain by using four different methods. Also, we are reporting the results of "modest" prototype wind turbine (1 m in diameter) installed near an urban area in Bahrain. In addition, we compared the wind power density with the solar power in Bahrain. METHODS OF ESTIMATION Method 1 The power density (W m- 2) is calculated using the following equation [1], Pw = 21P 53, (6) u is the mean monthly wind speed. Method 2 By knowing the mean monthly wind speed (5) and the standard deviation (6) of the 12 monthly mean, the power density could be calculated using the following relation [2], Pw = ~P[53 +35621 . (7) Method 3 The power density could be calculated using the method devised by [2], 53 P = ap ~, (8) where, r(1 + 3k) (9) - 1.08 k = (10) Method 4 The power available in a cross-sectional area per- pendicular to the wind stream moving at speed u is expressed using the following equation [3], 185