High level wind conditions at prospective wind farm sites on the Central Mediterranean Island of Malta

Abstract

Studies are currently underway to assess wind resources at onshore and offshore locations on the central Mediterranean island of Malta. This paper presents preliminary selected results from the wind datasets that are being compiled as part of a wider-ranging and in-depth assessment of the feasibility of wind energy utilisation in Malta. This paper focuses on wind speed trends on a monthly basis as a means of identifying seasonal wind speed variability and on wind shear characteristics at two onshore locations; namely at Wied Rini on the south west coast and at Aħrax Point. In one case wind shear is typical of local onshore conditions in fairly complex terrain, whereas at the second site much lower wind shear is evident; a characteristic that is primarily due to the location‟s coastal proximity. Preliminary results from other work in the field of computational modelling that is currently underway to define better local wind behaviour at macro-siting level are also introduced.