An evaluation of wind energy potential for power generation in Mozambique.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2012.Wind energy is a continuous, clean source of energy that can be harnessed for electricity generation or water pumping. The geographic location of Mozambique, and the long coastline renders the country a good wind energy potential that could potentially be exploited for water pumping or electrical power systems that have social and economic benefits and thereby contribute to a reduction in unsustainable practices of wood biomass burning which is the main source of energy in rural villages and high density suburbs of the main cities of the country. This study is focused on evaluating the potential of harnessing wind energy for electrical power generation in Mozambique using the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Programme (WAsP) model. The study characterises wind speed patterns and wind frequency distributions at selected meteorological stations based on hourly observations, and models the available wind energy in coastal and interior areas. Meteorological parameters such as wind speed data from nearby meteorological stations and wind turbine characteristics were used as inputs into the model. To effectively harness wind energy, mean annual wind speeds should at least be 3 ms-1. For this reason only sites satisfying this criterion were selected. The spatial selection criteria considered a fair distribution of candidate sites such that coastal areas of the southern, northern and the interior Niassa and Nampula provinces were covered. The results of the WAsP model simulations, indicate that there is sufficient wind energy resource in both interior and coastal areas, which varies with height a.g.l., and that can be exploited for pumping water and generating electricity in small or medium electrical power systems, particularly the coastal areas of Ponta de Ouro, Mavelane, and Tofinho where the mean annual wind speed is above 5.0 ms-1 at the 10 m level and about 8.0 ms-1 at the highest levels (50 - 60 m a.g.l.) and interior area of Lichinga (mean annual wind speed of about 6 ms-1 at the same highest levels). The lowest wind energy potential (mean annual wind speed of about 4.0 ms-1) is found in the Nampula area

Impact of Tropical Cyclones on Inhabited Areas of the SWIO Basin at Present and Future Horizons. Part 1: Overview and Observing Component of the Research Project RENOVRISK-CYCLONE

The international research program “ReNovRisk-CYCLONE” (RNR-CYC, 2017–2021) directly involves 20 partners from 5 countries of the south-west Indian-Ocean. It aims at improving the observation and modelling of tropical cyclones in the south-west Indian Ocean, as well as to foster regional cooperation and improve public policies adapted to present and future tropical cyclones risk in this cyclonic basin. This paper describes the structure and main objectives of this ambitious research project, with emphasis on its observing components, which allowed integrating numbers of innovative atmospheric and oceanic observations (sea-turtle borne and seismic data, unmanned airborne system, ocean gliders), as well as combining standard and original methods (radiosoundings and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) atmospheric soundings, seismic and in-situ swell sampling, drone and satellite imaging) to support research on tropical cyclones from the local to the basin-scale

Impact of Tropical Cyclones on Inhabited Areas of the SWIO Basin at Present and Future Horizons. Part 2: Modeling Component of the Research Program RENOVRISK-CYCLONE

The ReNovRisk-Cyclone program aimed at developing an observation network in the south-west Indian ocean (SWIO) in close synergy with the implementation of numerical tools to model and analyze the impacts of tropical cyclones (TC) in the present and in a context of climate change. This paper addresses the modeling part of the program. First, a unique coupled system to simulate TCs in the SWIO is developed. The ocean–wave–atmosphere coupling is considered along with a coherent coupling between sea surface state, wind field, aerosol, microphysics, and radiation. This coupled system is illustrated through several simulations of TCs: the impact of air–sea flux parameterizations on the evolution of TC Fantala is examined, the full coupling developed during the program is illustrated on TC Idai, and the potential of novel observations like space-borne synthetic aperture radar and sea turtles to validate the atmosphere and ocean models is presented with TC Herold. Secondly, the evolution of cyclonic activity in the SWIO during the second half of the 21st century is assessed. It was addressed both using climate simulation and through the implementation of a pseudo global warming method in the high-resolution coupled modeling platform. Our results suggest that the Mascarene Archipelago should experience an increase of TC related hazards in the medium term