Florida State University Libraries 2016 Wind Energy Potential on the Norhteastern Island Territories in Venezuela Considering Uncertainties Paola Gabriela Vasquez Maldonado Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL ON THE NORHTEASTERN ISLAND TERRITORIES IN VENEZUELA CONSIDERING UNCERTAINTIES By PAOLA GABRIELA VASQUEZ MALDONADO A Thesis submitted to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science 2016 Paola G. Vasquez M. defended this thesis on April 8, 2016 The members of the supervisory committee were: Sungmoon Jung Professor Directing Thesis Eren Erman Ozguven Committee Member Kamal Tawfiq Committee Member Raphael Kampmann Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii I dedicate this work to my mom Rita and my fiancé Jorge. I have no words to thank you for your daily support and motivation to finish this work. I could not have done it without having you in my life. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank Dr. Sungmoon Jung for believing in me, giving me an opportunity under extenuating circumstances; and always having faith in my work. Even if I wanted to, I could not quantify how much I have learned from you in the last year. Your level of expertise surprised me every time. Your passion for innovation and your dedication to your students will always remain as one of the best memories of my college years. I would like to thank Gholamreza Amirinia for having dedicated countless amount of time to help me complete my research in a timely manner. Always with the best disposition, you helped me understand concepts that were beyond my understanding before this research. Dr. Kampmann, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to help me and providing me with such helpful feedback without any obligation. I enjoyed working with you and being required to perform my best work at all times. Dr. Ozguven, I would like to thank you for your selfless help and for happily answering every repeated MATLAB question I had over these last couple of years. Thanks to my parents for showing me through their lives that hard work and aiming for the moon are the key to success. The person I am today is a result of your example and teachings. To my friends (Lauren, Steve, Victoria, Manuel, Mike, Nandi) from the engineering school, thank you for keeping me company; and keeping me sane throughout the long days and nights of work. You may not realize your direct impact on my research, but you made these years of my life joyful despite the amount of work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................... xi Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... xii Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Research Objective ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Research Scope ............................................................................................................................. 3 1.5 Thesis Structure ............................................................................................................................ 4 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Energy Generation in South America and Venezuela ................................................................... 5 2.1.1 Contemporary Energy Development: from Hydrocarbons to Sustainability ........................ 5 2.1.2 Energy Sector Obstacles in South America .......................................................................... 6 2.1.3 Hydropower Environmental Damage ................................................................................... 7 2.1.4 Venezuela’s Energy Production ............................................................................................ 9 2.1.5 Hydropower Collapse: Environmental Bill ......................................................................... 10 2.1.6 Ineffectiveness of the Environmental Bill........................................................................... 12 Wind Energy ............................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Wind Energy Potential Assessment .................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Wind Uncertainty ................................................................................................................ 14 Wind Resource ............................................................................................................................ 15 2.3.1 Atmospheric Density........................................................................................................... 15 2.3.2 Site Location and Surface Roughness ................................................................................. 15 2.3.3 Vertical Extrapolation ......................................................................................................... 16 2.3.4 Surface Roughness and Wind Shear Coefficient ................................................................ 16 2.3.5 Season ................................................................................................................................. 18 2.3.6 Time of Day ........................................................................................................................ 20 2.3.7 Direction ............................................................................................................................. 20 2.3.8 Wind Speed ......................................................................................................................... 20 Wind Turbine .............................................................................................................................. 21 2.4.1 Turbine Parts ....................................................................................................................... 21 2.4.2 Power Output ...................................................................................................................... 22 2.4.3 Annual Energy Production .................................................................................................. 23 Existing Research ........................................................................................................................ 24 v 2.5.1 Long and Short-Term Data Correlation .............................................................................. 24 2.5.2 Alternative Analysis Methods ............................................................................................. 25 2.5.3 Previous Wind Energy Assessments in Venezuela ............................................................. 26 2.5.4 Previous Wind Energy Assessments in Nueva Esparta State ............................................. 28 Identified Research Opportunity ................................................................................................. 29 Methods ...................................................................................................................................................... 30 Macro-siting ................................................................................................................................ 30 Data Availability and Micro-siting ............................................................................................. 32 3.2.1 Margarita Island: Cerro Copey and Punta de Piedras ......................................................... 33 3.2.2 Los Roques Archipelago ..................................................................................................... 35 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................... 37 3.3.1 Cerro Copey Weather Station ............................................................................................. 37 3.3.2 Punta de Piedra – La Salle Weather Station ........................................................................ 39 3.3.3 Los Roques Weather Station ............................................................................................... 39 Wind Resource Evaluation and Uncertainties............................................................................. 39 3.4.1 Data Processing