PROJECT TITLE

Advanced lidar – Applied field investigations and technology enhancement

THESIS TITLE

Windfield investigations at Lake Turkana wind farm in Kenya

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Generation of electrical energy from wind can only be economically achieved where a significant wind resource exists. In order to optimise energy output from wind farms, a thorough and reliable assessment of the wind resource over a given area and over an extended period of time is required. In this study, the main goal will be to identify the current wind characteristics at Lake Turkana wind energy site using Coherent Doppler LIDAR (CDL) data, anemometer data and coupled WRF-WAsP modelling technique. To achieve this, the performance of 1.6μm Coherent Doppler LIDAR deployed at the site over a 50-day period between July and October in 2009 will be described and analysed. The application of numerical modelling to wind farm assessment requires an extensive validation effort. This will be achieved using standard statistical verification methods. WRF-WAsP model forecasts will be compared to 1.6μm Coherent Doppler LiDAR data and  cup anemometer measurements from 3 meteorological masts locations. The results of this study will provide a positive contribution to the evaluation of the Lake Turkana site for wind energy production.

STUDENT PROFILE

Victor graduated from the University of Nairobi with a First Class honours in Meteorology in September 2010. He proceeded to work with IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) from January 2011 to June 2012.