Evaluation of WRF model for studying wind energy in Kish area

The first step in studying wind energy potential in an area is providing suitable wind. The typical method to gather wind data is installing wind masts. This method entails huge costs that can be irreversible when that area has not good wind potential. An alternative method for collecting appropriate data, very common today, is using numerical models. In this study, the WRF model and its various physical parameterizations are investigated to evaluate wind energy in Kish Island. In the first step, five different boundary layer parameterizations were evaluated in order to obtain optimal settings for simulating wind flow. Then, the best parameterization was obtained by comparing the schemes with data measured by the wind mast of the Renewable Energy Organization of Iran. Finally, the model was run for one year with the optimal settings obtained, and the results were compared with the available data. For comparison, Weibull distribution, daily and monthly average wind speed diagrams, vertical wind shear and wind direction diagrams were used. The results showed that MYNN2.5 parameterization has the best performance among the five schemas used. In addition, the shape and scale parameters of the model and the measured data differed slightly, and the wind direction showed slight counterclockwise deviation. In general, it can be said that the WRF model has good ability in simulating wind field in Kish area.