Evaluation of the Wind Fields in the Semi-Arid Region in Northeastern Brazil Using RAMS Model

Abstract The use of wind power has increased significantly around the world over the last few years. Some estimates state that about 12% of all energy generated in the world will come from wind energy conversion systems, corresponding to an installed capacity of 1,200 GW. The installed wind power capacity in Brazil is low, being equal to 11300 MW in 2017. Even though Brazilian wind potential is not spread all over the country, some regions are quite interesting for the installation of wind farms, especially the Northeast region, which aggregates about 53% of the national potential. This work aims to identify patterns of variability of the wind regime, as well as potential sites for the generation of wind power in semi-arid northeastern Brazil. In order to achieve it, numerical simulations are performed using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). During simulations, both turbulence parameterization and Newtonian relaxation time scale are evaluated. It is worth to mention that obtained data are compared with those provided by the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) through static indexes.