The enerMENA Meteorological Network – Solar Radiation Measurements in the MENA Region

International audienceFor solar resource assessment of solar power plants and adjustment of satellite data, high accuracy measurement data of irradiance and ancillary meteorological data is needed. For the MENA region (Middle East and Northern Africa), which is of high importance for concentrating solar power applications, so far merely 2 publicly available ground measurement stations existed (BSRN network). This gap has been filled by ten stations in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan. In this publication the data quality is analyzed by evaluating data completeness and the cleanliness of irradiance sensors in comparison for all of the stations. The pyrheliometers have an average cleanliness of 99.2 % for week-daily cleaning. This is a 5 times higher effort than for Rotating Shadowband Irradiometer (RSI) stations which even have a slightly higher average cleanliness of 99.3 % for weekly cleaning. Furthermore, RSI stations show a data completeness of 99.4 % compared to 93.6 % at the stations equipped with thermal sensors. The results of this analysis are used to derive conclusions concerning instrument choice and are hence also applicable to other solar radiation measurements outside the enerMENA network. It turns out that RSIs are the more reliable and robust choice in cases of high soiling, rare station visits for cleaning and maintenance, as usual in desert sites. Furthermore, annual direct normal and global horizontal irradiation as well as average meteorological parameters are calculated for all of the stations

Short-Term Wind Forecasting in Adrar, Algeria, Using a Combined System

Forecasting wind speed using only one single model may not be satisfactory; however, the combination of several models may provide better results, especially in case of doubt about the best estimator (predicator). In this paper, we propose a short-term forecasting system in order predict the hourly averaged wind speed (HAWS) in the region of Adrar, Algeria. The proposed system is based on adaptive combination of two different models. The first model is an ARMA-based model, while the second model is an artificial neural network ANN-based model. To allow adaptive combination, models are associated to time varying coefficients that are updated recursively using the recursive least square algorithm (RLS). Numerical simulations have shown that for few hours in advance, the prediction error of the combined system is lower or at least equal to the best estimator

A contribution in the actualization of wind map of Algeria

In the following work, we propose an assessment of wind potential in Algeria. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to draw the attention to the important wind potential in the region of Hassi-R'mel . In the previous maps, the wind potential in this region has been underestimated due the fact that it is located between two less windy regions. Second, the actualization of the wind map of Algeria using very recent data stretching from February 2004 to December 2009. This paper is structured in three main parts. First, a stochastic and the cyclic study of the wind behaviors in the site of Hassi-R'mel are proposed. The stochastic study is carried out by fitting the wind speed data to Weibull distribution while the cyclic study is carried out via the use of time-frequency analysis. We have used the time-frequency analyses instead of the traditional Fourier analysis due its ability to follow the spectrum variation with respect to time. As results, it has been found that spectrum wind process enfold many limited interval oscillations. In the second part, we propose to contribute to the actualisation of the wind map in Algeria. In this part, we have considered also the topographical aspect of Algeria. Such consideration is very helpful for understanding the wind potential reparation over the country. Finally, a techno-economical study of a stand along hybrid system (wind/diesel) in the site of Hassi-R'mel is considered. Via this study, it has been found that been found that the site of Hassi-R'mel is very adequate for wind energy conversion systems.Wind map Time-frequency analysis Weibull distribution Wind speed Techno-economical study Hassi-R'mel Algeria